Reclaiming His Crane
by mykkila09
Summary: yes *grins* another t/k short story. it's based on the ZEO episode...more summary inside...FINAL CHAPTER UP!
1. The Falcon's Decision

**Title: **Reclaiming His Crane**  
>Author: <strong>Mykkila09**  
>Chapter: <strong>1 of 5  
><strong>Chapter Title: <strong>The Falcon's Decision**  
>Settings: <strong>during ZEO and then TURBO; starts out with that atrocious episode, _"There's No Business like Snow Business" _and that God-awful letter and ends with T: APRM.**  
>Summary: <strong>Tommy gets the letter and after thinking things over, he decides not to let things end that way and to follow his heart. **  
>Chapter Word Count: <strong>6,787

**Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban; no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. If you didn't get that...I do **NOT** own and I am **NOT**making any money off of this.

**A/N: **a two-part story; had it as a one-shot, but by the time I got to the end, I decided to add on another chapter. This is just another way I thought that awful, awful, horrible, nightmare-inducing _(for all T/K fans)_ episode could've gone. Thanks to Falcon4Crane who was my bouncing board and told me to go for it...thanks girl. Enjoy.

'_Thinking'  
><em>"Speaking"  
><em><strong>letter<br>**__...letter throwback_

* * *

><p>When Tommy Oliver woke up, he was in a good mood; he stretched and rolled out of bed, smiling at the picture of his girlfriend of almost three years Kimberly Hart, before he headed to the bathroom. After doing his morning routine, including taking a shower, he got dressed and headed downstairs.<p>

When he got to the kitchen, he saw his parents; his mom Melissa was standing in front of the stove while his dad James was sitting at the table.

"Morning mom, morning dad," Tommy greeted as he walked in and took a seat.

"Morning son," James lifted his cup in greeting.

"Hey Tommy," Melissa turned to her son. "There's tea on the stove, and here's your breakfast." She placed a plate on the table.

"Thanks mom," Tommy smiled as he moved to the stove for a cup of tea; because he was a martial artist, he preferred drinking tea to coffee. After getting his cup, he walked back to his seat and sat down, digging into his breakfast with gusto.

"What are you going to do today?" Melissa asked her son.

"Well it's Saturday," Tommy answered, "so, the guys and I decided to meet at Ernie's before possibly heading out to the park."

"As always," James teased. "You guys do that no matter what the day."

"We like Ernie's," Tommy laughed as he finished his breakfast. "Thank for breakfast mom."

"Don't forget you have to call Kim later on," Melissa told him.

"Come on Mel," James laughed, "you know that's the one thing the boy won't forget to do."

"Dad," Tommy rolled his eyes as he got up from the table and placed his dishes in the sink. "I'll see you guy later and I won't forget to call Kim."

"Bye sweetie," Melissa smiled as he walked out the kitchen before turning to look at her husband and shaking her head.

"What?" James said defensively. "You know it's the truth. The boy has the worst memory and forgets everything, but when it comes to do something for Kimberly, he has the memory of an elephant."

Melissa could only laugh.

Tommy shook his head with a smile when he heard his mother's laughter as he left the house. His good mood growing, he had no idea the turn his day was about to take.

~...~

Walking into the youth centre twenty minutes later, Tommy saw his friends sitting at what had become their usual table. Smiling, he headed to where they were.

"Hey guys," He said as he pulled up a chair.

"Hey Tommy," everyone answered.

"You're early," Rocky DeSantos, their Spanish friend, commented with a grin.

"Shut up Rocky," Tommy groaned as he leaned back in his seat.

The others laughed as they looked at the two boys.

"I am so glad we can hang out," Kat, a blonde and blue-eyed Australian, said as she took a sip out of her smoothie. "It's nice to relax without having to worry about fighting the Machine Empire."

"I hear you," Tanya, an African-American girl, nodded in agreement. "But don't say anything else, don't wanna jinx us."

"Shutting up," Kat laughed as she cast a look at Tommy, the boy she was in love with; she knew that Tommy was more than in love with Kim, but she couldn't help how she felt. Tommy was everything she ever wished for in a boyfriend, only thing was, he was Kim's. But it didn't stop her from dreaming and in a corner deep in heart, tucked away securely, was the purely selfish wish that things would end between him and Kim so that she could have her chance. She was drawn out of her thought by Tommy sitting up.

"Where are you going?" Billy, a blond and blue-eyed boy, asked Tommy.

"Thought I'd do some weights," Tommy answered as he got up from his seat and headed over to where the weights were. The friends all looked at each other before they followed him.

Tommy sat down on the bench after adjusting the weights to how he wanted and started in on his exercise. As he worked, his thoughts drifted off to his girlfriend and he couldn't help the calm feeling that came over him; thinking about Kim always did that for him.

'_I miss her so much. I can't wait until she's back home, but I'm still happy she's able to follow through on her childhood dream. I'm so proud of her.'_

"Hey Tommy," Adam, a Korean teen, started as he and the others joined their friend. "What are your plans this summer?"

"What do we always do every summer?" Tommy teased his friend. "We've always either hung out at the park or the beach or here." He stopped for a minute before directing his question to Billy, Adam and Rocky. "You guys realize our summers have always been the same?"

"I know right," Rocky laughed. "The only thing that's different now is that Kim isn't here."

"How is it different?" Tanya asked; she had never met Kim as she had joined the team after the brunette had been in Florida, so whatever she knew was from what she heard from the others.

"Because usually," Billy answered, "Kim would have some gymnastic meet or something, so we'd all go. Or, Tommy and the others would have a martial arts expo."

"Or we'd just be watching her perform for us," Adam added with a smile as he thought on his friend. Ever since he had met the petite brunette in their sophomore year, they had gotten close as he had found it easy to talk to her; plus all the trips the experiences they had as rangers had bonded them even further.

"And then her and 'Sha would drag us to the mall if there wasn't any battles to be fought," Rocky laughed.

"Please," Tommy spoke up with a smile. "Even after we had a battle those two would still insist on going shopping."

The boys laughed while Tanya shook her head with a smile. Everything she heard about the former pink ranger had her wishing she _had _gotten to meet her, but she knew that she eventually would.

The talk continued on, with Tanya asking questions about the former rangers and the others explaining to her with the occasional input from Kat.

Sometime later, they were interrupted by Ernie walking over to them, a letter in his hand.

"Hey guys," Ernie greeted them with a smile.

"Hey Ernie," the friends smiled back.

"Tommy, got a letter for you from Kimberly," Ernie held the letter out to him.

"Hey Adam," Tommy said, "Read it for me."

"Sure thing man," Adam took the letter from Ernie and opened it.

_**Dear Tommy,**_

_**Everything is going great here in Florida. Coach Schmidt has me as ready as I'll ever be for the competition. Tommy, this is the hardest letter that I've ever had to write...**_

"Tommy man," Adam stopped and looked at his friend. "Maybe you should read this in private." Around him, the others looked at each in shock, one thought running through their minds; _Is Kim breaking up with Tommy?_

Tommy sat up and took the letter from Adam, a frown on his face as he continued reading.

_**...**__**You've always been my best friend, and in some ways, you're like a brother. But something has happened here that I can't explain. It's been both wonderful and painful at the same time…Tommy…I've met someone else…**_

_**Tommy, you know that I would never do anything to hurt you, but I feel like I've found the person that I belong with. He's wonderful, kind and caring. You'd really like him. And everything would be perfect, if it w**__**asn't for hurting you…but I have to follow my heart…**_

_**I will always care about you Tommy. Please forgive me.**_

_**Kimberly**_

"What?" Rocky looked from the letter to Tommy and back. "I don't believe this?"

"Tommy," Kat started, pity and sorrow in her eyes.

"I-I've got to go," Tommy stuttered out as he stood up. He could feel the tears building and he didn't want his friends to see him cry.

"Are you going to be ok?" Tanya asked.

"Y-yeah," Tommy tried to smile, but he failed. "I'll see you guys later." With that, he hurried from the youth centre.

The others looked at each other, while Kat bit her lip as she watched him leave; she wanted to go after him.

"He shouldn't be alone," Kat turned to her friends.

"He _needs _to be alone," Rocky countered before shaking his head. "I can't believe it. I can't believe Kim broke up with Tommy and in a letter to boot."

"I know," Adam frowned and clenched his fists before relaxing them. He could feel panic setting in, so he tried to stop it. _'This can't be true! It's Tommy and Kim, the falcon and the crane, the leader and the heart! They can't be over!' _ Adam knew he might sound unreasonable to someone else, but to their friends—and basically all the students at AGHS—Tommy and Kim were the guiding stone for relationships. Everyone wanted a relationship like the two of them; the girls wanted a guy that was so completely in love with them that they didn't even notice other girls and guys wanted a girl that was patient and understanding and all that Kim was. The two of them as a couple represented the hope that all the students had for their own future.

But now, that hope was being threatened. If Tommy and Kim—the power couple—couldn't make it, then what hope did the rest of them have? None at all.

"I'm going to check on him," Kat said. "Billy, let's go."

"Guys," Rocky tried to stop them. "Just leave him alone. Give him some time to deal with this." He knew he himself would need time to deal with it. He couldn't believe that Tommy and Kim were over. While he hadn't been there for the start of them, he had still seen them as they got stronger. Every time he saw them together, he was always awed; the pure love and tenderness and gentleness and such a strong bond that was between the two of them always had him happy for them and wondering if he'd ever find that kind of bond with someone.

On the surface, he was shocked and angry at Kim's letter, but deep in his heart, he didn't believe that Kim had thrown Tommy away so callously.

"I can't," Kat's voice was filled with determination and without a look at her friends, she took off after Tommy.

"I'll go," Billy said and he hurried after the blonde.

~...~

Tommy clenched the letter in his fist as he walked through the park. Tears burned his eyes as the words echoed in his head over and over.

_...I've met someone else..._

'_I don't believe this! How could she do this to me? Did I do something to cause this? Was it my fault?' _Tommy questioned himself as he walked, barely realizing that his tears had spilled and was running down his cheeks.

His day had started out so perfectly and now it was ruined. He'd never thought Kim would break up with him; he'd naively thought they'd be together forever. He always knew Kim was it for him; he didn't want anyone else. He wasn't even looking at anyone else.

'_But apparently Kim was,' _he thought bitterly, _'she found someone else...someone she believes is the one she was meant to be with...funny, I always thought that was me. I guess I was wrong.'_

He heard his name, recognized the voice to be Kat's, and hastily wiped his tears; he didn't want them to see him cry.

"Tommy," Kat said when she stopped in front of him. "Are you ok?"

"No I'm not," Tommy shook his head. "My girlfriend just wrote me a 'Dear John' letter."

"I am so sorry," Kat said as she reached out to place a hand on his arm.

Tommy stepped slightly back, allowing the blonde's hand to fall. "Me too. Look guys, I know you're worried, but right now, I just need to be alone. I'll see you guys later."

"Where are you going?" Billy asked.

"Home," Tommy answered before he turned and walked away, his friends watching him with sadness.

~...~

Tommy slammed the door to his house shut behind him, thankful that his parents had already left for work as he didn't really want to talk to them; he knew he'd eventually have to tell them about him and Kim, but right now, he couldn't.

He took the stairs two at a time and quickly went to his room, the door slamming shut as he threw himself on his bed. He closed his eyes and finally let the tears go. He was hurting so badly because he couldn't understand what went wrong between him and Kim, why she fell in love with someone else and he didn't know how he was going to move on with his life without her. She was his everything,

As he lay there, his thoughts drifted off and memories of his past with Kim assaulted him; from their first sighting, to their first meeting, their first kiss, and their first date...everything had been so perfect, or so he thought. His thoughts then drifted to the letter and all the hurt and anguish welled up inside of him and he got up off his bed and started pacing.

"God damnit Kimberly," Tommy balled his fists. "How could you do this to me? How could you hurt me like this? I loved—love you and you love me...or I thought you did."

His tears fell faster and he didn't bother to wipe them away. His heart was breaking in his chest and he couldn't truly understand why it was happening. Pain erupted throughout his body and he found himself releasing it on his room; everything was swept from his dresser, his sheets were torn from his bed, his chair and desk overturned. Tommy vented and when he was done, he collapsed to his knees and bowed his head, one hand clenched in his shirt over his heart.

"Why Kim?" the words were so filled with pain and so heart-wrenching. "Why?"

Tommy wrapped his arms around himself as the sobs ripped from him; if there was anyone around, their heart would hurt at the pain that was escaping him. Some while later, Tommy's sobs died down as he got himself under control.

He stood up and looked around, teary eyes taking in the dishevelled appearance, before he moved to the bed. As he sat down, a crinkling noise drew his attention and when he looked down, he noticed it was the letter.

Sighing, he picked it up and—against his better judgment—he started rereading it, over and over. As he read, the pain hit him, but the more he continued reading, the pain slowly faded away to be replaced by anger. By the time he had reread for what seemed like the twentieth time, his body was tensed with the anger. Standing, Tommy crushed the letter in his hand before he raised his wrist and pressed a button on his communicator, teleporting from his room to the Command Chamber.

~...~

He landed just feet away from Zordon's tube and wasted no time in walking over to the main control.

"Zordon," Tommy started as he looked up at his mentor. "I know we're not supposed to use our powers for personal gain, but, do you think you can allow me to teleport to Florida? I received something shocking from Kim and I really need to see her and talk to her about it."

Zordon said nothing but looked at his red ranger for a few minutes. "The rules are in place for a reason Tommy."

"I know Zordon," Tommy breathed deeply to bring his anger under control to prevent himself from snapping at his mentor. "And I understand." He took another deep breath before he looked at his mentor with determined eyes. "As much as I wouldn't like to, I will do it with or without your consent, though I'd rather have it and if it wasn't really important I wouldn't ask."

Zordon stared down at Tommy and recognized the look in his eyes as the same look as when he had he had gone to Zedd's palace to rescue his former pink ranger despite his concerns and objections and he knew that Tommy meant his word; even if he didn't allow him to go, he would teleport down there at some later date when he Zordon least expected it. He couldn't help but to be proud of him.

"Very well Tommy," Zordon nodded. "You may go. If there is any trouble, you will be teleported back immediately if you are needed."

"I understand," Tommy said gratefully before he turned to the robot. "Alpha, being as how I've never been to Florida, can you teleport me to just outside Kim's gym?"

"Sure Tommy," Alpha turned to the controls, getting the coordinates that he needed before turning to Tommy. "Ready Tommy."

"I'm ready," Tommy nodded.

"Teleporting now," Alpha said as he pushed a button and Tommy disappeared in the red light.

He reappeared minutes later outside a building—the training centre Kim was at—and smiled grimly. He was going to talk to Kim and get answers to his questions.

He headed to the entrance of the gym and opened the doors, walking inside. He came to a stop just inside the entrance to the floor area and looked around; spotting Kim near the beam, he almost smiled but then he saw the guy kiss her on her cheek and his almost smile turned into a frown and a glare. Straightening up and squaring his shoulders, he walked over to them, his eyes giving a quick flash of green.

~...~

Kim's eyes held determination as she stared down the end of the beam; it was another day at practice and she was on the beam today to get her routine down. For her, it was a piece of cake as she always felt comfortable—her accident months before notwithstanding—and she knew she could and would nail it.

Taking a deep breath, she finished out her routine and ended with a front flip dismount, her hands in the air.

"Nice," a voice sounded and she turned to see Danny Mitchell standing there.

"Thanks Danny," Kim smiled at him as he walked over to her and placed a kiss on her cheek. "What are you doing here?"

"Practice is over," Danny smiled, "so I thought I'd come see you."

Danny was part of the men's gymnastics team and he practiced at a different gym than the girls, courtesy of Coach Schmidt's rules; the boys had not only a different dorm building, but also a different gym, though sometimes the boys would end up at the girls' gym.

"That's sweet," Kim smiled at him. The two started walking but stopped suddenly by another presence; when Kim looked up, her eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "Tommy?"

"Hello Kimberly," Tommy spoke through gritted teeth as he tried to control his anger. "We need to talk."

"Who are you?" Danny frowned at the guy before taking a step towards Tommy. "You can't just demand her to talk to you."

Kim looked at Tommy, barely registering Danny's presence; she could feel the anger in him and knew what he was there about—the letter, the one she had sent a few days ago. She heard Danny say something and saw the way Tommy's eyes narrowed; it was the quick flash of green that had her stepping between the two boys.

"It's fine Danny," Kim held a hand to his chest, though her gaze never left Tommy. She knew what he could do if he lost control. Danny would have no chance. "This is Tommy."

Danny's eyes cleared from confusion as the name registered before he turned to Kim. "You don't have to talk to him, you know?"

"Yes...she does," Tommy injected, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. It really was taking all his control not to hit the guy. He knew, without a doubt, that this was the guy in the letter and it pissed him off to no end; all he wanted to do was just smash his face in.

Kim seemed to sense that—no surprise—and she quickly turned to Danny. "Really, it's fine. Tommy and I need to talk. So go."

"Are you sure?" Danny looked down at her. "Because I can—

"She's sure," Tommy cut him off with a growl.

"Ok," Kim grabbed Tommy's arm and began pulling him away, "time to go. Danny, I'll talk to you later."

Danny said nothing, his eyes trained on Tommy; this time, they held a hint of fear and slight confusion. For a second, he could've sworn he had seen Tommy's eyes flash green. _'But that's impossible. People's eyes just can't switch colours like that,' _Danny shook his head. _'It was a trick of the light...yeah...that's all it was.' _

He watched Kim and Tommy leave, and he couldn't help but to be filled with a sense of dread; he knew that by the time they were done talking, things would change. Whether it would be better for him or not, he wasn't sure.

~...~

Nothing was said between Tommy and Kim as they headed to the dorm building. Kim still had a hold of Tommy's hand and was surprised that he hadn't pulled his hand away from hers. Periodically he would clench her hand, but other than that, no move was made to remove his hand from hers.

They passed gymnasts, the girls looking at Tommy with appreciation and lust, but neither made attention and soon enough, they were on Kim's floor and heading to her room. They stopped in front of the door and Kim pulled out her key, unlocking it.

Her roommate, Denise Davis was sitting on the couch with her boyfriend Antonio Bernard.

"Hey Kim," Denise smiled at her friend. Her smile faded slightly when she saw the boy with Kim and her eyes widened slightly as she recognized him from the pictures that Kim had in her room.

"Hey Deedee, hey Tonio," Kim smiled briefly before she pulled Tommy towards her room. "We'll be in here."

"Ok," Denise nodded, a slight frown on her face, as she looked at the two. Her gaze drifted to Tommy and took in the tenseness in his body. She knew immediately what was going and shook her head before turning to her boyfriend. "Let's go."

"What?" Tonio looked at his girlfriend. "Why?"

"Because," Denise said patiently as she stood up and pulled him along. "Kim needs to talk with Tommy and I have a feeling that there are things that will be said that we don't need to hear."

"Thanks Deedee," Kim turned grateful eyes to her roommate before she opened her bedroom door, allowing Tommy to go in.

"No problem," Denise shook her head with a smile and headed to the door, closing it behind her.

Kim sighed before she stepped into her room, closing and locking the door behind her. She saw that Tommy was leaning against the window, so she sat down at the foot of her bed.

"What are you doing here?" Kim asked after a few minutes of silence.

"This," Tommy said and withdrew the letter from his pocket and threw it at her.

"Oh," Kim said as she watched the paper fall to the bed.

" 'Oh'? That's all you have to say?" Tommy's eyes blazed as he moved from the window to where she was sitting.

"What else can I say?" Kim asked as she looked up at him.

"I don't know," Tommy started, "how about, I'm sorry Tommy for writing such a cold letter and breaking your heart, or I'm sorry Tommy for not having the decency to call you and talk to you about wanting out of the relationship, or I'm sorry Tommy for cheating on you. Any of those could do Kimberly."

"I'm sorry," Kim looked away, not wanting to see the emotions raging in Tommy's eyes.

"Somehow," Tommy scoffed, "I don't think you are."

"I am!" Kim looked at him. "I never wanted to hurt you Tommy."

"Well what the hell did you think would've happened when I got that letter?" Tommy shouted. "Did you think I'd be happy? Did you think I'd be ok? Was I supposed to jump for joy about having my heart ripped from my chest and trampled on?"

Kim winced at his words. "No, of course I didn't expect you to be happy or ok."

"Did you know that I was with the others when I got the letter?" Tommy ignored her words. "We were hanging out at the youth centre when it came and I asked Adam to read it as I was working out."

Kim looked up at him, eyes wide with horror. "Oh my God, Tommy, I didn't—

"You didn't what?" Tommy cut her off harshly. "Do you know how it felt to have the others look at you with pity or to hear the person you love more than anything break up with you using something as cold as a letter? DO YOU?" the last part was shouted.

Kim felt her eyes fill with tears. She'd never heard Tommy like that before and he'd never yelled at her either. But she couldn't blame him. "I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean for the others to know what was in it."

"Then why'd you send it to the youth centre in the first place?" Tommy asked.

"Because I knew you spent more time there than at home," Kim sniffled.

"Was that him?" Tommy asked as he paced her room.

"Yes," Kim nodded as she wiped a few tears away.

"I don't get it Kim," Tommy looked at her. "How could you cheat on me?"

"I didn't cheat on you Tommy," Kim stopped him.

"But in the letter," Tommy glanced from the letter to her. "You said you meant someone else."

"I did," Kim nodded, "but I didn't cheat. Yes, I met someone else, but nothing happened...at least, not yet. I knew I was going to hurt you, even if I didn't mean to or want to, and I wasn't going to add to it by cheating. I told Danny I couldn't be with him until time had passed."

"Oh isn't that nice," Tommy sneered before he sighed. "If you haven't even started dating yet, then why didn't you just call me?"

"I-I don't know," Kim admitted softly and ducked her head. She wanted to say something, anything, but she knew she couldn't; she deserved to let him talk, to hear what he had to say, his anger.

"You don't know," Tommy shook his head. "Wow. And if it wasn't bad enough that you met someone else and you told me in a letter, _a letter!_ You demeaned our entire relationship by saying I was like your brother." He glared at her. "Are you fucking kidding me Kim? A brother? The things we did were as far from a sibling relationship as ever, unless you're telling me that you're into incest. I mean, how the hell could you even say that?"

She had never heard Tommy swore before and it scared her a little. Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest from the anger and pain that she heard in his voice.

"Just tell me why Kim," Tommy looked at her, anger fading to be replaced by sorrow and his eyes took on a pleading look. "Did I do something? Was it because I didn't call enough? Or was I too busy? Why Kim? Why would you do this?"

"Tommy," Kim stood up and walked over to him, a fresh set of tears rolling down her cheeks. "I know you don't believe me, but I am truly so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Just tell me why Kim," Tommy's eyes filled with tears and they spilled over as he looked at the girl he loved more than anything. "Please."

Kim took a deep breath. "You did nothing wrong, never think that. Danny and I met and became friends when I came back after Christmas break. We bonded because of how similar our situations were; he came from a divorced home, his dad wasn't really in his life, especially after he found out his son wanted to be an Olympic winner and not a cooperate business man. We hit it off because of that and we started getting close. But I wasn't going to do anything because I was in love with you and I wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize my relationship with you."

"Something changed," Tommy pointed out, "because you did just that."

"Danny," Kim shrugged, "he started saying how I wasn't being fair to either one of you. He said it wasn't fair to let you keep believing that we were still together when I wanted to be with him, that I should do the right thing and let you go. He told me how it would be easier on me if I had a boyfriend that could empathize with what I went through as a child and what I was going through in being in Florida, someone that was there in the flesh and not across the country.

"And then he started saying how it wasn't fair to you either to have a girlfriend clear across the country and that you shouldn't have to deal with something like that. He said that you deserved a girlfriend you could count on to actually be there to take on dates and to kiss and hold and all that other stuff. At first, I didn't pay attention to anything he was saying, but then, after hearing it over and over, day after day, I guess he got to me subconsciously and soon enough, I started thinking the same things and the next thing I know, I'm writing you the letter," Kim finished with a sigh.

Tommy stayed silent as he let Kim's words wash over him. He had been so hurt when he read that letter as he had thought that things were ok between the two of them; he loved her and knew that he wanted no other in his life. Teenager though he may, he already knew that he was going to be with her forever and that someday, she would wear his ring and carry his last name.

He was more than angry with her after the whole thing had sunk in and it was why he had come to Florida in the first place—to get answers. He couldn't understand how Kim could cheat on him. But now, listening to what she said, he had to admit that while she did have some blame, most of it rested on Danny. The guy had liked Kim and had seen an opportunity to get her. The words from the letter came back to him;

_...I feel like I've found the person I was meant to be with..._

It all made sense now; Danny had played on her insecurities about being away from home and had used their similar childhood experiences to bond with her even further until he had managed to convince Kim that he was more right for her than he Tommy was.

Tommy sighed before looking at Kim; she looked so heartbroken and remorseful that he knew he just couldn't stay angry at her, no matter how much he wished it—he never could and he had no doubt that he never will. He still loved her and he still believed that they belonged together.

"Tell me this Kim," Tommy spoke and waited until she looked into his eyes before continuing. "Are you still in love with me?"

Kim's eyes widened in shock and it had her speechless.

"Kim," Tommy took a step closer and grabbed her arms. "I love you, even after this, I still love you and that won't change. Right now, all I want to do is go downstairs and kick Danny's ass for what he did." Seeing the look on her face made him smile and he took a step closer, slowly lowering his head. "As far as I'm concerned Beautiful, you and I are still a couple and that's how it's going to stay. Danny can go take a flying leap head first off a cliff. So, I'm going to ask again, are you still in love with me?"

Kim swallowed a few times before she whispered. "I never stopped."

"Good," Tommy grinned and closed the distance between them, capturing her lips in a kiss.

Kim was surprised—though she shouldn't have been—for a split second before she found herself kissing back. Tommy's arms moved from her arms to her waist, pulling her closer, and in turn, she wrapped hers around his neck.

Their passion rose and hands roamed as the kiss deepened. To others, it would look like two lovers who couldn't keep their hands off of each other, to Tommy and Kim, it was a reaffirmation of their love and bond and their status as a couple.

Due to the necessity of air, the kiss broke minutes later and the two stared at each, breathing heavily.

"I'm not letting you go Beautiful," Tommy said as he pressed his forehead against Kim's. "We've been through too much to just end things like this or to throw our love away. You're mine."

"Ok," Kim smiled up at him. "I'm sorry about the letter."

"Water under the bridge," Tommy shook his head, causing hers to move slightly with his, "already forgotten. I know it's hard Kim, us being so far apart, but we can make it."

"I know," Kim nodded, "and I shouldn't have doubted us and allowed Danny to influence me in writing the letter. I regret doing that."

"Maybe Zordon will let me teleport down here now and again," Tommy said.

"I don't think he'll allow that," Kim pointed out, "what with the whole personal gain thing."

"After everything we've been through," Tommy countered, "we deserve it. We, more than the others, have sacrificed a lot for the powers."

"I love you so much Handsome," Kim said, "and I promise, from now on, I won't let what happened with Danny to happen again. If I start to feel overwhelmed or have any doubts, then I'll call you."

"Good," Tommy grinned, "that's what I want to hear." He kissed her once more. "I should be getting back."

"Do you have to go already?" Kim pouted.

Tommy glanced at his watch. "Whoa, yeah I do. I can't believe so much time passed when we were talking and no battles either."

"I guess even the universe wanted to make sure we were uninterrupted," Kim teased before sighing. "Alright, I should let you get back. Tell the guys I miss my playful ape, my genius wolf and my bashful prince."

"I will," Tommy nodded before he kissed her again. "I'll see you Beautiful."

"Bye Tommy," Kim smiled as she stepped back from him, giving him enough room to teleport.

Tommy smiled before he pressed his communicator, teleporting from Kim's room.

~...~

Tommy landed in a secluded spot near the youth centre; he had decided to go there because he knew that his friends were probably worried about where he had been all day—even though he suspected that they had already gone to Zordon to find out where he had disappeared to. Knowing they'd have a ton of questions, he sighed and made his way to the doors of the building.

When he got to the entrance of the gym, he saw his friends sitting around their table and walked over to them.

"Hey guys," he greeted.

"Tommy!" echoed around him as they turned to him.

"Have you been in Florida all day?" Tanya asked.

"Yeah," Tommy nodded as he pulled up a chair and sat down. "We didn't even realize it was so late." He had left for Florida just after lunch this afternoon and it was almost dinnertime.

"We?" Rocky grinned at him. "So, you did see Kim."

"Yep," Tommy answered.

"And what happened?" Adam asked.

"Well," Tommy rubbed the back of his head. "I kinda yelled at her a bit."

"So?" Kat spoke up, hope fluttering inside her. "Are you guys over?"

Tommy grinned. "No. After I yelled at her, we talked."

"And what did she say about the letter?" Billy asked.

Tommy looked at the group; they were not only his friends, but they were his teammates. He loved Kim and would do anything for her. This situation not only affected him, but it affected them to; they deserved to know everything. So, really, there was only one thing to do and it was also the most logical; he lied.

"The letter was a fake," Tommy said, to the shock of the others.

"What?"

"Yeah," Tommy nodded, "seems like one of the girls in the gym was jealous of Kim. Not only because she was the new girl that the coach handpicked, but also because of how Kim talked about all of us here; apparently, Kim was one of the few that managed to not only stay in contact with her friends, but to also keep up a relationship."

"And?" Tanya asked.

"Well," Tommy continued, "she hated how Kim was always so happy and acted like nothing could shake her, so she dared Kim to write a letter. One that was mean and cold and basically totally different from the Kim we know."

"I knew it!" Rocky interrupted, a bright grin on his face. "I mean, you're right; the letter was so different from our crane. Kim isn't the type of person to do something like this. Even if she _had_ met someone, she would've called to explain or something."

"Anyways," Tommy shook his head with a laugh at Rocky. "Kim wrote the letter to prove she could and then she threw it away, or so she thought, but the girl grabbed the letter after Kim left and then she mailed it out."

"So it wasn't Kim," Adam breathed a sigh of relief.

"No," Tommy smiled, "I mean, she did write it, but it wasn't anything."

Kat felt her heart break and the pinprick of tears as her hopes were crushed. She tried to keep it from her voice. "So, you're still a couple?"

"Yes," Tommy grinned, "Kim and I are still together and that's not gonna change any time soon, if at all."

"Yes!" Rocky pumped a fist in the air. "The stars have been realigned and all is right with the universe."

"What the hell man?" Tommy laughed along with the others.

But Rocky didn't care; Tommy and Kim were still together and he was happy for that.

Tommy shook his head at his friend, but said nothing else. Truthfully, he could understand his friend's reactions. Thinking on Rocky made him remember Kim's message.

"Hey," Tommy said, stopping the others' laughter. "I got a message from Kim."

"What is it?" Tanya asked.

"It's for you three," Tommy gestured to Rocky, Adam and Billy.

"What'd she say?" Billy turned curious eyes to Tommy.

"That she missed her playful ape, her genius wolf and her bashful prince," Tommy smiled.

"We miss her too," Adam smiled at the thought of her

"What does that mean?" Tanya looked at the others.

"Before I joined the team," Kat explained to her friend, "they were the ninjetti."

"Kim was the crane," Billy continued with a smile, "which is why we always call her crane our little crane; I was the wolf, Rocky was the ape, Tommy was the falcon, Aisha was the bear—

"And I was the frog," Adam finished. "I didn't really like it at first, but Kim helped me to accept after we got back from Phaedos."

"Oh," Tanya smiled. Sometimes she wished she had joined the team earlier on than she did as the stories she had heard about their experiences were interesting. "What's Phaedos?"

Billy, Rocky and Adam launched into tales, each boy more at ease and relaxed now that they're heart and strength were back together, and told both Kat and Tanya about Phaedos and their experience.

Tommy leaned back in his seat and watch his friends; he felt so relaxed and in such a good mood that they Machine Empire could attack and he wouldn't really care. He had reclaimed his crane and as far as he was concerned, all was right with his world.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2: **so...what did you guys think? Review and let me know. The next half of this will be out next Friday.


	2. The Crane's Choice

**Title: **Reclaiming His Crane**  
>Author: <strong>Mykkila09**  
>Chapter: <strong>2 of 5  
><strong>Chapter Title: <strong>The Crane's Choice**  
>Settings: <strong>during ZEO and then TURBO; starts out with that atrocious episode, _"There's No Business like Snow Business" _and that God-awful letter and ends with T: APRM.**  
>Story Summary: <strong>Tommy gets the letter and after thinking things over, he decides not to let things end that way and to follow his heart.  
><strong>Chapter Summary: <strong>Kim deals with being in Florida on her own; showcases everything leading up to the writing of the letter and Kim's actions after Tommy's visit.  
><strong>Chapter Word Count: <strong>6,563

**Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban; no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. If you didn't get that...I do **NOT** own and I am **NOT**making any money off of this.

**A/N:** ok, it's a day off because I was having internet problems, but things are good now, so thanks to everyone who reviewed and loved the first part. Read and review so I can know what you think.

'_Thinking'  
><em>"Speaking"

**Original Posting Date: **Saturday 28th May, '11.

* * *

><p><em>(Starts after Kim returned to Florida after Christmas break)<em>

Kim sighed as she left the gym and headed to the dorm building just a few feet away. She had just had another gruelling day of practice and was looking forward to nice, long, bath to soothe her aching muscles. The cool breeze of the Florida air was more than welcomed on her skin.

It was the ending of February, just over two months since she came back from spending Christmas in Angel Grove with her friends and boyfriend. She had enjoyed her time back home, even with the attack and saving Christmas, but she wouldn't have changed it for anything.

Smiling softly, her hands went up to the necklace around her neck and she fingered the pendant that lay there; Tommy had given it to her as her Christmas. He had pulled her aside after the concert and had gave her the necklace; she loved it, one reason because it was from him, the other because of the pendant, which was two birds—a crane and a falcon—intertwined in heart.

"Hey Kim," a voice drew her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see her roommate and her boyfriend, at the entrance to the dorm building.

"Hey guys," Kim greeted.

"I'll see you later Denise," the boy, Antonio Bernard, said.

"Alright," Denise nodded. "Night Tonio." The two kissed before Tonio walked away, leaving the two girls at the door.

"So how was practice?" Denise asked as she opened the door and the two girls walked in.

"It was good," Kim smiled, "gruelling, but good. I'm going up now and I plan on taking a warm and soothing shower. What about you Deedee? How was your night?" Because her name was Denise Davis and her initials were 'DD', Kim had given the girl the nickname 'Deedee' after she had arrived in Florida and the two became roommates and then friends. She was the only allowed to call her that.

"Amazing," Denise smiled at her friend. It was her night off from practice and she had spent it with her boyfriend. "Tonio took me out to dinner and then we went dancing."

"Sounds like you had fun," Kim laughed.

"Oh yeah," Denise nodded. The two continued talking as they headed up the stairs, opting not to take the elevator was they were only on the second floor.

"What are you going to do tonight?" Denise asked as she closed the door to their dorm room behind her.

"After my shower," Kim answered as she headed to her bedroom, "I'll call Tommy."

"Have fun," Denise smiled before she sat down on the couch and grabbed the remote, turning the TV on.

"I will," Kim called out before she closed the door, her roommate's laughter following her.

~...~

Over the next few days, Kim practiced her routines until they were near perfection. As was the norm, the beam would be the last event she practised and today was no different. She had just finished her routine when she heard her name.

"Hey Kim," she looked up and saw Daniel Mitchell heading towards her. She had met Danny about a week after she had came back from Christmas break and the two had clicked immediately, almost as immediately as she had clicked with Denise.

"Hey," Kim smiled at him. She walked over to where her gym bag was and bent down to grab it before straightening up. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Danny shook his head. "I knew your practice would be over about now, so I thought I'd come see you."

"Aww," Kim smiled at him as she started walking out of the gym, Danny falling into step beside her. "That's sweet."

"What can I say," Danny grinned, "I'm a sweet guy." He held the door open for her and when she stepped out, he let it go. "So, Kim, are you doing anything later?"

"Dee and I are going to hang out tonight," Kim answered as she looked over at him. "Why?"

"I was wondering if you'd wanna go out to eat with me," Danny asked hopefully.

"Danny," Kim stopped walked and turned fully towards him. "You do remember that I still have a boyfriend, right?"

Danny frowned. He couldn't understand why Kim still kept the relationship when she and the guy were miles apart and he was right there.

"But Kim," Danny started, hoping to change her mind. "You and I have a connection, one you don't have with Tommy." He was referring to their similar childhoods. "We bonded over that and we understand each other better than someone else could. I know you like me Kim, and I like you, don't you think you should be fair to Tommy and let him go?"

Kim stared at him in disbelief; yes, she knew that they connected because of their similar past, and he was a really nice guy, someone she knew she could talk to. She did like him, but she didn't like him enough to give up Tommy.

"Danny," Kim sighed as she started walking again. "I do like, but not enough to break up with Tommy. I love Tommy, with all my heart. Please accept that."

Danny said nothing, he only nodded in frustration; he wished she would understand and see what he did. However, he wasn't going to give up that easily. He truly believed they belonged together.

"Ok Kim," He said to placate her.

"Ok," Kim nodded and she stopped in front of the entrance to the dorm building. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," Danny said as he turned and walked away.

~...~

Over the course of the next few weeks, Danny hadn't changed his tune; he was still there every day after Kim was finished with her practice and they still talked. Every time they did, Danny would remind her of everything he had told her a few weeks ago and though Kim would remind him of her relationship, she couldn't help but to realize that she _was_ starting to like him more than a friend...a lot more.

She and Danny would spend a lot of time hanging out after practice and on their days off. They would talk as they normally do and sometimes they would have fun. Soon enough, she was starting to fall for him, and Danny seemed to realize that as he reiterating what he had told her; he kept telling her about to Tommy in that she should let him go to be with someone who was actually there and that she should be with him as he connects with her in a way no one else—not even Tommy—does.

Kim tried to ignore it, but she would find herself thinking over everything Danny had told her. While she knew in her heart she belonged to Tommy, she couldn't help but to fall for Danny and she started wanting to be with him. But she still couldn't bring herself to cheat on him or to let him go so easily.

_(Four days before Tommy's arrival)_  
>Time passed again, and before she knew it, May had arrived. It was the first week and she had finally perfected her routines. She was able to do them with minimal to no missteps and she couldn't be happier. She the moment she was done with her routine, Danny would be waiting on her, however, to her surprise—and slight disappointment—he wasn't.<p>

"Dee," Kim walked over to her roommate and friend. "Have you seen Danny?"

Denise looked up from her position on the floor—she was doing the splits and stretching—and answered her friend.

"No," Denise shook her head, "maybe he's not done with his own training."

"You're right," Kim smiled and shook her own head.

"Why are you asking for him?" Denise narrowed her eyes at her friend. She knew that Danny wanted to be with Kim and that the girl put him off seeing as how she was in a relationship, but she couldn't help but to wonder if things weren't changing.

"No reason," Kim said, "it's just that, usually he's here and he's not, so I thought I'd ask."

"Ok, if you say so," Denise murmured.

"Do you want me to wait for you?" Kim asked as she shifted her gym bag on her shoulder.

"Nah," Denise smiled at her, "you don't have to. Besides, Tonio's taking me out."

"Ahh," Kim grinned, "I got it. Tell him I said hi."

"I will," Denise laughed, "see ya later Kim."

"Bye," Kim waved before she turned and walked out the gym. She smiled at the other gymnasts that she passed, but she didn't stop and continued on her way to the dorm building. As she walked, her thoughts went to Danny; she couldn't help but to remember a conversation they had a few days ago.

_Flashback_

_Coach Schmidt had ended practice early and everyone was beyond happy about it. Denise was spending the rest of the afternoon with Antonio and Kim and Danny had decided to hang out._

_They were walking through the park, talking about their routines and past when Danny stopped and sat down on a bench, pulling Kim with him._

"_What?" Kim laughed._

"_Have you thought more on what I was telling?" Danny asked, cutting right to the chase._

"_Danny," Kim stopped laughing and looked at him. "You know why. I love Tommy."_

"_So?" Danny grabbed her hands. "I'm not saying you don't, but don't you think it's time to move on from him? You guys are just in high school and high school relationships don't last long. I mean, who's to say he hasn't already found some other girl?"_

"_He hasn't," Kim denied, "Tommy isn't like that and he wouldn't do that."_

"_But you're doing it," Danny pointed out. "Kim, if you didn't have feelings for me, you wouldn't have gotten as close to me as you did, especially after I told you all that I did and what I keep telling you. You wouldn't listen if there wasn't a part of that thought the same things I'm saying."_

_Kim remained silent, knowing that he was right; she had been thinking about everything he had said, but she hadn't allowed her thoughts to go any further because she knew that she truly loved Tommy and he was it for her...but, there were times when she would feel the doubt creep up and try to overtake her._

"_I know I keep telling you it's not fair to you to have a boyfriend so far away," Danny continued, "and that it was better for you to be with me because of our similar pasts and the fact that that brought us so close, but what about Tommy? Do you think it's fair to him to have a girlfriend clear across the country? Don't you think he deserves a girlfriend he can count on to be there to talk to, in person and not on the phone? Someone he could he can actually see and take out on dates and kiss and hold and whatever?"_

_Kim looked away as his words sink in. That was one of biggest fears when she had moved to Florida; that Tommy would grow to resent her for being away. But when she had went home for Christmas, he hadn't seemed that way; he had truly been happy to see her and her doubts had been cleared...or so she thought._

"_You see," Danny felt triumph when he saw the conflicted emotions on Kim's face. "You __**do**__ get what I'm saying."_

_End flashback_

Kim shook her head to get rid of her thoughts. Ever since that day, Danny had spent the next few weeks telling her the same thing over and over and soon enough, her doubts came back and she found herself listening and believing what he was saying.

She knew she and Danny weren't together, but sometimes when they were hanging out, it would feel as if they _were_ a couple; the only thing they wouldn't do is kiss.

'_Is he right? Am I really being fair to either one of us? I love Tommy, I do...but, what if Danny was right? He and I connected because of our similar past, is he the better choice for me?' _

Kim came out of her thoughts, only to realize that she was in front of her dorm door. She had been thinking so much that she hadn't realized when she had entered the building or walked up the stairs.

Opening her door with a sigh, she walked in and threw her gym bag next to the couch and dropped down on it. She laid her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes.

"Ugh," she groaned, "what am I going to do? I can't hurt Tommy like that, but I can't keep lying either. Should I really let him go?"

Her mind once again ran over everything that Danny had told her over the last few months. Every day, he would tell her the same thing over and over and now, she found herself believing every word.

"I have to," Kim whispered to the empty room, "I can't keep going on like this. I'll just end up hurting Tommy even more than I have. I have to let him go."

Getting up off the couch, she grabbed her bag and headed to her room. When she got there, she placed her gym bag near her closet and moved to her bed, grabbing a pen and book as she did so. Sitting down, she gazed down at the notebook in her hand and wondered at what she would write.

_**Dear Tommy,**_

'_What to say? Can I really break Tommy's heart and like this, in a letter?' _Kim turned her gaze away from the page. Her eyes caught the picture of her and Tommy and she stared at it for a few seconds before Danny's words came rushing back to her. Closing her eyes briefly in sadness, she turned back to the page.

'_I'm so sorry Tommy.'_

_**Dear Tommy,**_

_**Everything is going great here in Florida. Coach Schmidt has me as ready as I'll ever be for the competition. Tommy, this is the hardest letter that I've ever had to write...**_

_**You've always been my best friend, and in some ways, you're like a brother. But something has happened here that I can't explain. It's been both wonderful and painful at the same time...Tommy...I've met someone else...**_

_**Tommy, you know that I would never do anything to hurt you, but I feel like I've found the person that I belong with. He's wonderful, kind and caring. You'd really like him. And everything would be perfect, if it wasn't for hurting you...but I have to follow my heart...**_

_**I will always care about you Tommy. Please forgive me.**_

_**Kimberly**_

Kim stared down at the paper with wide eyes; she knew that most, if not all, of the words would be shocking, but she also knew that this was the only way Tommy wouldn't come after her. All he wanted was her happiness and if he thinks she's truly happy, then he'll accept the letter and let her go.

Closing the book, Kim placed it on her nightstand and fell back against the bed. She had actually written it. Tomorrow, she would post it out before she went to practice.

"I had to do it," Kim whispered as she stared at her ceiling. "I couldn't go on like this. He deserves better."

She fell asleep soon after, her dreams filled with the images of Tommy getting the letter and looking at her heartbrokenly and with Danny smiling and happy.

The next day, true to her word, she headed over to the post office before she went in to practice.

~...~

Three days had passed since Kim sent the letter and while she thought she would feel better, she still felt guilty. The day she had sent the letter, she had told Danny about it later that afternoon and he had been happy that she had finally done what he wanted. He had then asked her out, but she couldn't say yes, so she told him she needed time.

Now, she was practicing, but she couldn't fully concentrate as she couldn't help but to feel anticipation—for what, she couldn't say—all she knew was that something was going to happen. Shaking her head, she tried to get rid of the feeling and she headed towards the beam. Pressing her palms flat on the surface, she lifted herself onto the beam and started in on her routine.

As she moved across the beam, her thoughts flitted away from her as she forgot about everything except what she was doing. She did her flips, splits, handstands and slight dance movements as she worked before she was coming on to the end.

Standing at one end, her eyes held determination as she stared down the length of the beam. She had succeeded in removing all thoughts from her mind and had completely gotten into her routine. She had gotten it down easily as she had always felt comfortable—her accident months before notwithstanding—and she knew she had nailed the exercise and would nail the ending as well.

Taking a deep breath, she finished out the last part of her routine, ending with a front flip dismount, her hands in the air.

"Nice," Danny's voice sounded and she turned to see him.

"Thanks Danny," Kim smiled at him as he walked over to her, placing a kiss on her cheek. "What are you doing here?" Not that she wasn't happy to see him, but she had thought that his practice would have gone a little longer.

"Practice is over," Danny smiled, "so I thought I'd come see you."

Seeing as how he was a part of the men's gymnastics team, he practiced at a different gym that girls, courtesy of Coach Schmidt's rules; the boys not only a different dorm building, but they also had a different gym, though sometimes the boys would end up at the girls' gym.

"That's sweet," Kim smiled at him. She loved how he would these little things for her. Sometimes, she couldn't help but to compare him to Tommy as his actions would remind her of her ex.

The two turned to walk away, but they were stopped suddenly by another presence. Kim looked up and her eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

"Tommy?"

"Hello Kimberly," Tommy spoke through gritted teeth as he tried to control his anger. "We need to talk."

"Who are you?" Danny frowned at the guy before he took a step forward. "You can't demand her to talk to you."

Kim looked at Tommy, barely registering Danny's presence; she could feel the anger in him and knew what he was there about—the letter, the one she had sent a few days ago. She heard Danny say something and saw the way Tommy's eyes narrowed; it was the quick flash of green that had her stepping between the two boys.

"It's fine Danny," Kim held a hand to his chest, though her gaze never left her ex. She knew what he would do if he lost control; Danny would have no chance. "This is Tommy."

Danny's eyes cleared from confusion as the name registered before he turned to Kim. "You don't have to talk to him, you know?"

"Yes...she does," Tommy injected, his hand clenched into fists at his side.

Kim could see that it was taking all of his control not to hit Danny—she was partially surprised he hadn't done so yet—and knew that his control was slipping. She really appreciated Danny trying to stand up for her, she really did, but he was way out of his league when it came to Tommy.

"Really Danny, it's fine. Tommy and I need to talk, so go."

"Are you sure?" Danny looked at with a frown. "Because I can—

"She's sure," Tommy cut him off with a growl and Kim could feel the situation escalate.

"Ok," she grabbed Tommy's arm and began pulling him away, "time to go. Danny, I'll talk to you later."

She didn't wait for Danny to say anything, she stated pulling Tommy away before he really lost it and decked Danny. As they headed to her dorm building, nothing was said between the two of them. She still had a hold of Tommy's hand and was actually surprised that he hadn't pulled away from her. Periodically he would clench her hand, but other than that, he made no move to remove his hand from hers.

They passed other gymnasts, the girls looking at Tommy with appreciation and lust, but neither paid attention and soon enough, she and Tommy were on her floor, heading to her room. When they stopped in front of the door, she pulled out her key and unlocked it. Stepping inside, she saw that Denise was sitting on the couch with Antonio.

"Hey Kim," Denise smiled at her friend, but it faded slightly and her eyes widened when she saw Tommy with Kim. She recognized him from the pictures that her friend had put in her room.

"Hey Deedee, hey Tonio," Kim smiled briefly before she pulled Tommy towards her room. "We'll be in here."

"Ok," Denise nodded, a slight frown on her face, as she looked at the two. Her gaze drifted to Tommy and took in the tenseness in his body. She knew immediately what was going and shook her head before turning to her boyfriend. "Let's go."

"What?" Tonio looked at his girlfriend. "Why?"

"Because," Denise said patiently as she stood up and pulled him along. "Kim needs to talk with Tommy and I have a feeling that there are things that will be said that we don't need to hear."

"Thanks Deedee," Kim turned grateful eyes to her roommate before she opened her bedroom door, allowing Tommy to go in.

"No problem," Denise shook her head with a smile and headed to the door, closing it behind her.

~...~

Sighing, Kim stepped in her room, closing and locking the door behind her. She saw that Tommy was leaning against her window, so she sat down at the foot of her bed. It was silent between them for a few minutes before she broke it.

"What are you doing here?"

"This," Tommy said as he withdrew the letter from his pocket and threw it at her.

She watched the paper fall to the bed and her heart rate sped up. "Oh." The moment the word left her mouth, she knew it would offend him.

"'Oh'? That's all you have to say?" Tommy's eyes blazed as he moved from the window to where she was sitting.

"What else can I say?" she asked as she looked up at him; that was a lie. She knew what else she could've said; she could've told him she was sorry or something, anything but that.

When Tommy started in on her, she couldn't help the wince his words brought; everything he said was true, well, except the cheating part, but really, it still could be considered cheating. Despite the fact that she hadn't wanted to, she had hurt him. Truth be told, she never expected Tommy to come after her; she had written her letter purposely the way she did because she wanted him to just let her go and move on.

"I'm sorry," she said when he was done. She looked away as she said because she didn't want to see the emotions raging in his eyes.

"Somehow," Tommy scoffed, "I don't think you are."

That grabbed her attention. "I am!" she looked at him. "I never wanted to hurt you Tommy." That was the last thing she had wanted.

"Well what the hell did you think would've happened when I got that letter?" Tommy shouted. "Did you think I'd be happy? Did you think I'd be ok? Was I supposed to jump for joy about having my heart ripped from my chest and trampled on?"

She winced at his words; her heart was breaking at the hurt she had caused him. "No, of course I didn't expect you to be happy or ok." _'I expected you to let me go...to move on with someone else...someone who could be there for you...like...Kat...'_

When she heard him say he was with the others and that they knew what it was in the letter, she couldn't help the horrified gasp that escaped her lips and she knew the same horror was reflected in her eyes. "Oh my God, Tommy, I didn't—

He cut her off harshly. "You didn't what? Do you know how it felt to have the other look at you with pity or to hear the person you love more than anything break up with you using something as cold as a letter? DO YOU?" he shouted the last part.

Kim felt her eyes fill with tears. Never had she heard Tommy like that before and he'd never yelled at her either. She knew it was bad form on her part to write him the letter, but she honestly thought that was the best way to go; she knew if she had called him, she would've chickened out and if she had somehow managed to go through with it, the pain in his voice would've been too much for her. But even as he yelled at her, no matter how much it hurt, she couldn't blame him.

"I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean for the others to know what was in it."

"Then why'd you send it to the youth centre in the first place?" Tommy asked.

"Because I knew you spent more time there than at home," Kim sniffled. He deserved her honesty, or at least a part of it.

"Was that him?" Tommy asked as he paced her room.

"Yes," Kim nodded as she wiped a few tears away. She knew he would make the connection from the way Danny was acting around her.

"I don't get it Kim," Tommy looked at her. "How could you cheat on me?"

"I didn't cheat on you Tommy," Kim stopped him. That was one thing she had to clear up; she knew he was hurting from the entire letter and she knew that the thought of her cheating was one of the things that was really tearing him apart. She could hear it in his voice.

"But in the letter," Tommy glanced from the letter to her. "You said you met someone else."

"I did," Kim nodded and decided to explain even further. She told him about meeting Danny and how she had made the decision to break things off because she had refused to cheat on him. When he sneered at her, she ignored the hurt it caused her.

Admitting to him that she didn't know was lying because she did know, but she couldn't tell him that. He deserved to talk and she deserved to let him do it, needing to hear what he had to say, needing to hear his anger.

"You don't know," Tommy shook his head. "Wow. And if it wasn't bad enough that you met someone else and you told me in a letter, _a letter!_ You demeaned our entire relationship by saying I was like your brother." He glared at her. "Are you fucking kidding me Kim? A brother? The things we did were as far from a sibling relationship as ever, unless you're telling me that you're into incest. I mean, how the hell could you even say that?"

She had never heard Tommy swore before and it scared her a little. Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest from the anger and pain that she heard in his voice.

"Just tell me why Kim," Tommy looked at her, anger fading to be replaced by sorrow and his eyes took on a pleading look. "Did I do something? Was it because I didn't call enough? Or was I too busy? Why Kim? Why would you do this?"

"Tommy," Kim stood up and walked over to him, a fresh set of tears rolling down her cheeks. "I know you don't believe me, but I am truly so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Just tell me why Kim," Tommy's eyes filled with tears and they spilled over as he looked at the girl he loved more than anything. "Please."

He deserved her honesty, she took a deep breath and told him everything; she told him about Danny and how they became close, she told him everything that Danny had told her about staying with him and being fair to all of them and how after hearing the same thing over and over, she started to believe him. She started seeing where Danny was coming from and she soon accepted it and how she ended up writing the letter. When she was done, she looked at him, hoping for something—though she wasn't sure what she was hoping for.

She truly was sorry that he had been so hurt and that she had demeaned the entire relationship by saying he was like her brother; even now, she still couldn't believe she had written that.

'_What the hell was I thinking? I never wanted to hurt Tommy and I ended up doing it in the worst way possible. How could I do something like that?'_

Tommy's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Tell me this Kim." She heard the pause and looked up at him, which seemed to be what he was waiting for as he continued. What she heard next was she didn't expect.

"Are you still in love with me?" Tommy asked.

Her eyes widened in shock and she was speechless.

When Tommy admitted he still loved her, her heart felt like it would break free from her chest. She couldn't believe it! He smiled at her and her heart race increased. He stepped closer to her and she knew she should step away but she couldn't. It was like she was frozen and she found herself unwilling to even try. Hearing her beloved nickname even after everything brought warmth through her and when he asked if she still loved him, she was shocked.

She swallowed a few times, trying to find her voice. And when she did, the words flew out before she could even think to stop them. "I never stopped."

"Good," Tommy grinned at her and closed the distance between them, capturing her lips in a kiss.

She was surprised—though she shouldn't have been—for a split second and then she found herself kissing back. As Tommy's arms moved from her arms to her waist, pulling her even closer, she wrapped hers around his neck.

Their passion rose and hands roamed as the kiss deepened. To others, it would look like two lovers who couldn't keep their hands off of each other, to the two of them, it was a reaffirmation of their love and bond and their status as a couple.

Due to the necessity of air, the kiss broke minutes later and the two stared at each, breathing heavily.

"I'm not letting you go Beautiful," Tommy said as he pressed his forehead against hers. "We've been through too much to just end things like this or to throw our love away. You're mine."

"Ok," She smiled up at him. She couldn't help the heady rush of pleasure that went through her at his words. Hearing him so forceful and confident made her giddy and she wondered how she could have ever thought about letting him go. "I'm sorry about the letter."

"Water under the bridge," Tommy shook his head, causing hers to move slightly with his and she laughed. "Already forgotten; I know it's hard Kim, us being so far apart, but we can make it."

"I know," She nodded; she knew that now. "And I shouldn't have doubted us and allowed Danny to influence me in writing the letter. I regret doing that."

"Maybe Zordon will let me teleport down here now and again," Tommy said.

"I don't think he'll allow that," Kim pointed out, though she couldn't help the happy feeling of him wanting to the break the rules for her. "What with the whole personal gain thing."

"After everything we've been through," Tommy countered, "we deserve it. We, more than the others, have sacrificed a lot for the powers."

"I love you so much Handsome," Kim said, and it was true. Her heart really did belong to him. She knew then that whatever she may have had with Danny, it wouldn't have lasted as she would've found her way back to Tommy. "And I promise, from now on, I won't let what happened with Danny to happen again. If I start to feel overwhelmed or have any doubts, then I'll call you."

"Good," Tommy grinned, "that's what I want to hear." He kissed her once more. "I should be getting back."

"Do you have to go already?" Kim pouted. Now that things were ok between them, she wanted him to stay a bit longer.

Tommy glanced at his watch. "Whoa, yeah I do. I can't believe so much time passed when we were talking and no battles either."

"I guess even the universe wanted to make sure we were uninterrupted," Kim teased before sighing. "Alright, I should let you get back. Tell the guys I miss my playful ape, my genius wolf and my bashful prince."

"I will," Tommy nodded before he kissed her again. "I'll see you Beautiful."

"Bye Tommy," Kim smiled as she stepped back from him, giving him enough room to teleport.

Tommy smiled before he pressed his communicator, teleporting from her room. When he was gone, she sat down on her bed and sighed, hugging her pillow to her. She still couldn't believe everything that had just happened; when she had first written that letter, she had felt beyond sure that Tommy wouldn't come.

She knew him better than anyone and knew that all he wanted was what was best for her and if he had thought she was truly happy, then he would let her go. She never ever expected him to come after her. But he did and she could admit to herself that she felt a glow of pleasure and feminine triumph to see him so jealous over Danny, almost to the point of attacking him.

She knew Tommy loved her, but she had never seen him act like that before and a part of her couldn't help but to be awed at his slight cavemen act. With a giggle, she fell back on her bed, suddenly tired as the day's events caught up to her. She yawned and replaced her pillow beneath her head.

Her last thought before sleep claimed her was wondering just how she would explain to Danny nothing would ever come of the two of them.

~...~

The next morning, Kim was heading to the gym with Denise in tow. The two girls were talking and smiling when Denise broached the subject of the day before.

"So," Denise looked at her friend, "what happened yesterday?"

"Tommy got the letter and decided to confront me about it," Kim admitted with a smile. "He yelled mostly and I listened and then we decided to work things out."

"So you're still together?" Denise asked.

"Yep," Kim nodded.

"And what about Danny?" Denise raised an eyebrow towards her friend.

"I have to talk to him and get him to understand that things between Tommy and me are fine," Kim answered as she looked towards the gym. "And that things between the two of us will not happen."

"Good luck on that," Denise laughed.

"Shut up," Kim laughed and the two girls continued on their way.

Soon enough, they were entering the gym and they changed out of their sweats, revealing their leotards underneath, and started with some warm exercises before they got into their routines.

The day continued on as usual; the coach would come in and help some of the girls with their routines or to praise other girls on the job they were already doing. By the time the afternoon rolled around, both Kim and Denise had completed their practice for the day and were at the gym just getting in some free time. A while later, Danny showed up.

"Hey guys," Danny called as he hurried over to where the two girls were.

"Hey Danny," Kim and Denise replied as one.

"Kim can I talk to you?" Danny asked and Kim nodded, walking away with him. "So what happened yesterday?"

"Danny," Kim looked at him and stopped walking. "There's no easy way to say any of this."

"What?" Danny looked at her in confusion.

"Danny," Kim started, "Tommy and I are back together. We talked and worked things out. We decided to try again."

"I don't understand," Danny's brows furrowed.

"When we talked," Kim explained, "I realized that I was still in love with Tommy and that I always would be. I'm sorry things got the way it was between us, but nothing will ever happen."

"Kim," Danny reached out a hand to touch and she shifted slightly, allowing his arm to fall short. "You can't be serious? What about everything we talked about?"

Kim sighed. "They were all valid points, but they weren't strong enough to change things between me and Tommy. Look, I do like you, I do, but that's just it. What I feel for you is nothing compared to what I feel for him and I realized that; even if he hadn't come here and you and I had started dating, things would've ended between us because deep down, my heart would've always belonged to Tommy." She smiled briefly. "You can be in love with someone and still be attracted to someone else. It shows that you're human. That's what happened between us; because of our similar life story, we became close and I think it amplified whatever feelings we had."

"So that's it?" Danny asked.

"I'm sorry," Kim shrugged; she wasn't trying to be mean, but he had to understand and she thought she was more than clear enough. "I really am."

"Please just think about this," Danny said.

"Danny," Kim looked at him, "you're a really good friend and that's all we'll ever be; please, don't make this any harder than it has to be. I've got to go...maybe I'll see you later." She bit her lip, "or maybe not. bye Danny."

With a small and sad smile, Kim turned and walked away. She knew that she was losing a good friend, but if he couldn't understand why things had to be this way, then maybe he wasn't that good of a friend in the first place. It might have seemed like she was leading him on all these months and people might call her a bitch for it, but she didn't care, or rather, she wasn't going to allow it to affect her too much.

She had thought something could've come of them, but she realized—and in time too—that she was wrong. All she wanted to was to be happy and she was; she had Tommy back and that was all that mattered to her.

**A/N 2: **and that's the second chapter. Remember guys, now that you've read, don't forget to review. The final part will be out next week. Ta ta for now...

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><p><strong>Reviewers for previous chapter:<br>****hopelessromanticgurl; Princesskarlita411; sabina21; VampDGurl; oldtvlover; Falcon4Crane; Belle Paris; springbaby83; The Mathematicienne; Pinkrangerfan; Taeniaea; brankel1; Jeremy Shane; mae-E; Young at Heart21; slytherensangel26; RFK22; Jaguarsolaris**

Ok, the reply url isn't working properly, so;

**VampDGurl: **I am actually in the process of writing a story that features the three major episodes of the ZEO/TURBO era (_No Business Like Snow Business, King for a Day 1 & 2, and T: APRM) _not too sure when it's going to get finished and posted as I am also writing the sequels for HBC, RAN and LA: AG...but it will be posted. But in the meantime, if the muse hits me, I might even pop out a one-shot around the episode as I never liked how Kat broke Tommy out of the spell...yeah right that would happen...

**Oldtvlover, mae-E, Falcon4Crane and Jaguarsolaris: **glad you guys loved it and don't worry, Danny isn't going away so easily. And those green eyes may make another appearance *smiles*

**Slytherensangle26: **oh...poor baby, I'm so sorry to hear you've been sick. I hope you're feeling much, much better now. I'm glad you like the story.

**RFK22, brankel1, hopelessromanticgurl, Princesskarlita411, Jeremy Shane, Taeniaea, Belle Paris, springbaby83 and Pinkrangerfan: **I am so glad you guys enjoyed reading this story.

**Young at Heart21: **so can I (she's doing really well on _Flashpoint—_really awesome show), but the writers totally did mess up with her character. I think their reason for doing what they did was because he was the leader and the leader needed a girl; which is total crap because Jase was leader before Tommy and he _didn't_ have a girl.

**The Mathematicienne: **it really was! I couldn't believe that they had let him do that. I mean, after everything he and Kim had been through and him disobeying Zordon of all people to save her, he doesn't fight or at least try to? So wrong...

**Sabina21: **don't worry, Kat will be a good girl, no trouble from her end.


	3. The Interloper's Mistake

**Title: **Reclaiming His Crane**  
>Author: <strong>Mykkila09**  
>Chapter: <strong>3 of 5  
><strong>Chapter Title: <strong>The Interloper's Mistake  
><strong>Settings: <strong>during ZEO and then TURBO; starts out with that atrocious episode, _"There's No Business like Snow Business" _and that God-awful letter and ends with T: APRM.**  
>Story Summary: <strong>Tommy gets the letter and after thinking things over, he decides not to let things end that way and to follow his heart.  
><strong>Chapter Summary: <strong>After Kim spoke with Danny, he decides not to let things end that way and decides to prove to Kim that he's the one for her, but he ends up making a big mistake.**  
>Chapter Word Count: <strong>10,519

**Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban; no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. If you didn't get that...I do **NOT** own and I am **NOT**making any money off of this.

**A/N: **this chapter is like three weeks over due. So sorry about that; the thing is, I already had most of the chapter written and then I deleted what I had and re-wrote the entire chapter. And after reading the reviews and being hit by my muse, I decided to add on about two more chapters which will cover the two major episodes of the ZEO and TURBO eras. Read and review so I can know what you think.

'_Thinking'  
><em>"Speaking"

**O.P.D.: **Saturday 18th June, '11.

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><p>Danny stood still as he watched Kim walk away. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He had thought that things between he and Kim were finally working out, that the two had a chance to finally be together. He had liked her from the moment he had met her back in January and knew he had to be with her. When he had heard about her boyfriend, he had been heartbroken, but was determined to still have some place in Kim's life, so he became her friend, silently hoping he'd somehow have a chance with her in the future. And determined to make that happen, he knew he'd have to get rid of her boyfriend and he had found the perfect plan.<p>

He had filled her mind with thoughts on being fair to Tommy; he had shown her just how much they had in common, more than she did with Tommy. At first, she had been resistant to what he was saying, but he had noticed that some of it had started to sink in until finally, she had believed his words and had ended her relationship with Tommy. He had been so excited when she had told him that and even though she had said she had needed a little time, he was willing to wait because as far as he was concerned, nothing was going to stop them from being together; she was his.

But that's not the case now. Yesterday, out of nowhere, her ex, Tommy, had shown up and he wasn't anything at all like he had pictured him to be. Tommy was slightly taller than he was, with an olive skin tone, dark, brooding eyes and shoulder length dark hair. He was also muscular. When he had thought about her boyfriend, he had never imagined Kim would have gone for that kind of guy. Apparently he was wrong.

And if that wasn't enough, the freaky thing the guy did with his eyes. There was no way a person's eye could change colours like that. It just wasn't natural and there was a sense of danger surrounding the guy when he had tried to talk him down. All of his instincts had been screaming at him to get away, but he had to stay to protect Kim...not that it made a difference because she had left with him anyways and when he had watched them leave, he knew that things would change and he was right.

Somehow, Tommy had managed to change Kim's mind about them being together and now, he was the one with the broken heart. He couldn't understand it; he had thought that he had finally gotten the girl. So what happened? How was he able to change her mind in the few hours they spent together?

"And where is he now?" Danny asked himself out loud. "He shows up out of nowhere and then disappears just like that. What the hell is going on? Who is that guy? And why does he get the girl I want...the girl that belongs to me?"

Danny started pacing. "Kim deserves to be with me. _Me!_ Not him. I was the one that has been here these last few months. I was the one she was talking to and hanging out with. We had-_have_ a connection, damnit! He can't just show up here and just take her back! She's not his anymore. She's mine!"

He stopped pacing and smiled, but it wasn't a nice one. "I'll just have to make sure she knows that, that's all."

~...~

The rest of the day, Danny stayed away from the girls' gym. He kept to his own, lost within his thoughts as he went through his routines, almost vigorously. A few of the other gymnasts would call out to him or try to get him to take a break, but he didn't stop. By the time he had finally stopped though, it was already dark outside. Saying goodnight to the few guys still hanging around the gym, Danny left.

As he headed back to the dorm building, his thoughts drifted to Kim and what he was going to do to show her they were meant to be. He couldn't give her flowers or anything as he had done that when they were friends, so he had to come up with something different.

"But what?" he mused out loud. "What can I do to show Kim _I'm _the one that loves her...that she belongs with me? How can I prove that?"

Shaking his head, Danny looked up and noticed he was alright at the entrance; sighing, he made his way inside and to his dorm, which was on the first floor.

"Hey Dan," his roommate, Seth Michaels, greeted him. "You were gruelling at practice today. What's up?"

"Nothing," Danny replied curtly. "My mind was on something all day."

"Have anything to do with Kim?" Seth asked. He knew how his roommate felt about the girl, but he had thought he was wasting his time as almost everyone at the training centre that Kim had a boyfriend back home.

"Maybe," Danny shrugged. "I thought things were going good between us. I mean, she had broken up with her boyfriend to be with me."

"Seriously?" Seth turned wide eyes to him. "When did that happen?"

"A few days ago," Danny answered. "And I thought I was finally going to get my chance with her, but now that's not happening."

"Well, why not?" Seth asked.

"The guy showed up out of nowhere to talk to Kim," Danny scowled. "I didn't think they should, but Kim said they needed to, so I let her go. Next thing I know, she's coming up to me today telling me they decided to get back together."

"Wow," Seth shook his head, "Sorry man."

"Whatever man," Danny waved his hand, "it aint your fault. I just don't get it. I mean, I know there was a connection between me and Kim. We could be good together; I could be good for her. I just wish she'd see that."

"I don't know what to tell you man," Seth said as he turned the TV off and stood up. "I feel for you, I do, but if Kim went back so easily with the guy, then maybe she never meant to break up with him in the first place."

"Yes she did!" Danny growled at his friend. "She wanted to be with me! If he hadn't shown up, we'd be together."

"Whoa!" Seth held up his hands in surrender. "Dude, chill; I didn't mean to make you mad. Look man, why don't you just forget about it? I mean, from what you said, Kim's back with her ex and why would she do that if she really didn't want to?" Seth walked into the kitchen for a bottle of water before coming back out. "You can't make Kim love you."

Danny looked away and clenched his fists.

Seth sighed before he started to his room. He opened his bedroom door before turning back to Danny. "You know if this was a movie, then something would happen where Kim would get hurt and then you'd save her life and she'd be so grateful for that that she'd fall in love with you and you guys would live happily ever after." He paused and laughed. "But this isn't a movie because life doesn't work like that and you wouldn't be so lucky. If I were you, I would just accept that Kim's not going to be with you and move on."

"Goodnight Seth," Danny said pointedly.

"Night Dan," Seth rolled his eyes. "Kim's a good friend. Wouldn't you rather have her as a friend than as nothing at all?"

Danny scoffed and stomped off to his room, opening and slamming his door. He angrily stripped from his gym clothes before throwing himself on his bed. As he laid there, Seth's words came back to him;

_...Kim would get hurt_..._so grateful...she'd fall in love with you...happily ever after..._

Over and over, the words repeated themselves until Danny found himself actually thinking about it.

'_I can't seriously be thinking about this, can I? I mean, there's no way I can hurt Kim. I love her too much. But...what choice do I have? I know I can be better for her than Tommy. I just know it. And I'll show her. I'll show that I'm the one she can depend on.'_

With a satisfied smile, Danny drifted off to sleep, his dreams filled with the images of him saving Kim and her declaring her love for him.

~...~

_(Next day at the Girl's Gym)_

"Kimberly," Denise walked over to where her friend was doing her floor routines.

"What's up Dee?" Kim stopped what she was doing and looked up at her.

"Well," Denise smiled, "I'm just wondering if I'm going to be properly introduced to that gorgeous boyfriend of yours."

Kim froze and her eyes widened slightly. She had no idea what to do. Tommy had already teleported back to Angel Grove. She had no explanation as to his sudden appearance and disappearance. She never thought that someone would actually really question it or that her roommate would want to meet him. She had no idea what to do; she needed to talk to Tommy.

"Gorgeous, huh?" Kim deflected. "I wonder what Tonio would do if he heard you say that."

"Nothing," Denise giggled, "because he knows I love him, but that doesn't mean I can't look. I'm sure you've heard the phrase 'just because I've got the main dish, doesn't mean I still can't look at the menu'."

"Who hasn't heard that?" Kim laughed, but inside she was scrambling through her thoughts to figure out an excuse. When a thought flittered across her mind, she latched onto it. "Anyways, about Tommy, he's at his hotel room sleeping. He spent the whole day yesterday at the hotel pool and then we talked later that night, but he's sleeping today. I think the jetlag finally caught up with him and when he goes down, he's down for the count." That wasn't true...at least not completely. Yes, Tommy was a deep sleeper, but not when it came to her. Sometimes he would sleep so deeply that not even their friends or his parents could wake him, but a slight touch from her and he would wake.

"Oh," Denise nodded sympathetically. "Totally understandable, I'll just meet him another day."

"Yeah," Kim grinned, wondering how she was going to pull that off. She looked around the gym, frowning slightly when she didn't see Danny. "Hey, have you seen Danny?"

"No," Denise shook her head, "not since yesterday when you left to talk to him."

"I haven't seen him since then either," Kim said. "It's not like him."

"Well, the guy was hoping he'd be your boyfriend," Denise pointed out, "only to find out that you and Tommy decided to try again. He probably just need time to get over that."

"You're probably right," Kim smiled.

"Of course I am," Denise grinned, "now come on, the sooner we get these routines done, the sooner we can get out of here."

"I am all for that," Kim laughed and the two girls continued on with their practice. All their work had paid off as Schmidt had given the rest of the afternoon off. Wanting to enjoy the day, the girls decided to head to the beach.

Kim had fun with her roommate, her mind free from her worries for a short time, not realizing she was being stared at by Danny.

Later that night, after they had gotten back to their dorms, Kim went to her room and called Tommy.

"_Hey Beautiful," Tommy greeted._

"Hi Tommy," Kim smiled and settled on her bed. "I called to see how things were going and because I really need to talk to you."

"_Things are fine," Tommy said, "the others are doing ok and said to tell you hi, Rocky especially."_

"What about the extra job?" Kim asked, "everything ok on the front?"

"_Yep," Tommy nodded, forgetting for a second she couldn't see him. "Just the same as always. Nothing's really changed."_

"Good," Kim said, "I'm glad to hear that."

"_So what'd you need to talk to me about?" Tommy asked._

"We kinda have a problem," Kim sighed.

"_What kind of problem?" Tommy sat up a bit straighter._

"Well," Kim started, "Denise asked about you and it made me realize that we never thought about what would happen if someone questioned your sudden appearance and disappearance in Florida."

"_Shit!" Tommy cursed as he stood up and started pacing._

"I know," Kim fell back on her bed. "What are we going to do?"

"_I'll talk to Zordon," Tommy said, "I'll figure something out."_

"I told Denise that you spent yesterday at the pool and that you were sleeping in your hotel room today because of the jetlag," Kim told him.

"_Alright," Tommy nodded, "that sound plausible." His communicator started beeping and her cursed. "Kim, I have to go. But don't worry, I have an idea, but I need to talk to Zordon. I'll talk to you later."_

"Ok," Kim nodded, "I love you Handsome. Bye."

"_Love you too Kim," Tommy smiled. "Bye."_

Kim hung up and sighed, hoping that whatever his plan was, he would figure things out soon. Getting up, she turned off the light and went to sleep.

~...~

Later the next afternoon, Kim was sitting on a bench watching Denise when she saw Tommy walking towards her. Shocked, she could only stare at him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I told Zordon what you told me," Tommy smiled, "so, we had Billy and Alpha mess with the computer of a hotel close to here and made sure my name was registered to a room. This way, I can teleport home if there's trouble and be here to prevent people from asking questions."

Kim's eyes widened in joy and she jumped up to hug him. "I love you so much, you know that?"

Tommy laughed and squeezed her waist lightly. "I know, I love you too."

"Now can you introduce us?" Denise's voice broke them apart and the two smiled at her.

"Of course," Kim grinned.

~...~

Danny got up that morning with a determination to win Kim's affections. He was prepared to do anything. Even though all through the night, his dreams had been filled with the different situations Kim could be in so that he could come to her rescue, he had dismissed those thoughts when he woke up. He wanted to get Kim another way without looking crazy.

With a smile, Danny walked up to the girls' gym and opened the door. He greeted some of the other gymnasts and headed inside. He turned to go where he knew Kim would be only to stop short in shock and disbelief; standing with his arm around Kim's waist, was none other than Tommy.

Anger and hurt coursed through him and he clenched his hands into fists. He glared at the happy couple and turned and walked out the gym. As he got to the doors, he looked back once more and his anger intensified when he saw Tommy kiss Kim. Glaring once more, he left the gym, pulling out his cell phone as he crossed the parking lot to his car.

"Hey, it's me," he spoke into the phone. "Remember I told you I'd need a favour? Well, I'm cashing it in. I need you to do something for me." He paused and listened before he grinned. "Good. Meet me in twenty minutes." He hung up and smiled. "Soon Kim, soon you'll see that I'm the right guy for you."

~...~

After they were done at the gym, Kim took Tommy out to show him around the town. Of course, the mall was one of the first places they went and Kim did some shopping, before they headed to the beach. They spent two hours there before they went back to Tommy's hotel room where they spent the rest of the night.

The next morning, Tommy teleported back to Angel Grove—to avoid suspicions with his parents and to spend some time with the others—while Kim went back to her dorm to get ready to spend the day out as it was their day off from practice.

She hadn't seen Danny all day; in fact, she hadn't seen him since she had told him they couldn't be more than friends. She was upset of course that she was losing a good friend, but she also understood how he'd need time to accept that nothing was going to happen between them and if avoiding her helped him get over it, then as much as she didn't like it, she'd let him do it.

Kim left the dorm and head off the compound to meet Denise at the mall. She was excited for their day off because for the first time in months, she felt truly relaxed. As she was passing the compound, she had no idea her life was about to drastically change.

She had just passed an alleyway when she felt someone grab her arm. Before she could say anything or turn around, she felt a blow to the back of her head. The last thing she saw before she fell into darkness were two figures standing over her; one unfamiliar, the other very familiar.

~...~

Staring down at Kim's unconscious form, Danny felt a twinge of regret. He hadn't wanted to do this, but he had no choice. He loved her and he desperately needed her to see he was the one she belonged with.

"Dude," his friend, Alexander Michaels, looked at him before looking back at Kim. "You never said she was this hot."

"Don't talk about her like that," Danny glared at Alex. "Help me tie her up."

"Alright man," Alex said and he walked over to where some rope lay and grabbed it, walking back over to where Kim's body was. They had brought her body to a nearby abandoned and run-down building and had placed her in a chair in the back of the building; the windows to the room were boarded up, letting in little no light and only one door. Silently, the two boys tied her up; Danny was too busy being careful of hurting Kim to notice the way Alex's eyes trailed over her body.

"What do you plan to do now?" Alex when they were done. "How are you gonna play this?"

"We'll leave her here for a day or two," Danny said. "Everyone will look for her and then, I'll "find" her."

"You'll be a hero and she will be grateful to you for saving her life," Alex finished with a nod.

"She'll realize that I'm the one she should trust because I did what her _boyfriend_ couldn't do," the word boyfriend was sneered. "I saved her."

"Whatever man," Alex snorted. He turned back to look at Kim and once again, his eyes travelled her body. Starting at the top, he took in her long hair, slim body, flat stomach, toned arms and legs and the slight flare of her hips, giving her small curves. He could see why his friend was so taken with the girl; though she was short, she had a banging body. _'Must be because she's a gymnast,' _he thought. _'I wouldn't mind tumbling with her.'_

"Let's go," Danny's voice cut into Alex's thoughts. "We don't want anyone getting too suspicious."

Alex shook his head and nodded. Taking one last glance at Kim, he followed Danny out the room, closing the door behind him, and out the building. As the two boys walked away, Alex vowed to spend some time with the girl before Danny took her. He couldn't wait.

~...~

Denise wasn't someone that was prone to panic attacks. She was usually calm, cool and collected in any situation, except this one. She could handle anything life threw at her; she rolled with the punches and didn't let anything freak her out too much...except for this. What was this? Simple; Kim was missing.

Kim was supposed to meet her at the mall almost two hours ago and the brunette never showed. When the first fifteen minutes had passed, she had been patient; she had figured that Kim had just gotten caught up with Tommy. Ok. Then, a half hour went by and her patience started to evaporate and was readily replaced by slight worry, but she brushed it off. She told herself Kim had to go back to the dorm to shower and dressed...a reasonable explanation, one that would explain why Kim wasn't answering her phone.

When another half hour went by, making it an hour since Kim was supposed to meet her, the worry shifted to dread. But now, almost two hours had passed and she was having a small panic attack. Denise quickly left the mall and headed back to the compound, all the while praying Kim was there and that she had just gotten caught up doing something.

Walking into the gym, she spotted a few of the girls on the floor and went over to them.

"Hey guys," she greeted.

"Hey Denise," one of the girls, Sasha Nichols, replied. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Denise said, "I'm just wondering if any of you guys saw Kim?"

The girls exchanged looks and Michelle Davenport answered. "Well, last time I saw her, she was dressed and leaving the dorm. She said she was going to meet you so you guys could do some shopping."

The small panic attack was getting bigger and a distressed look entered her eyes. "Guys, she was supposed to meet me over an hour ago, but she never showed up."

The girls looked at each other once more before they all stood up.

"What do you mean?" Tamieka Christopher asked Denise.

"Ok," Denise explained, "Kim and I had plans to spend the day at the mall. She was supposed to meet me there almost two hours ago, but she never showed up. I called her cell, got no response, but I left messages."

"Maybe she forgot," Sasha suggested, though inside, she was starting to feel panicky.

"This is Kim," Denise shook her head in denial. "She would've called me to let me know if she wasn't going to come or if she was running late. She did neither."

"What about her boyfriend?" Michelle asked. "Maybe she's with him?"

"And if she's not?" Denise countered. "You guys, we know Kim. She wouldn't have let an hour—let alone two—pass without calling or texting. Something is wrong."

"I'll let the coach know," Tamieka said, "we don't want to panic yet, but maybe some of the guys can ask around and see if anyone's seen her."

"I'll call Tommy," Denise said before she winced. "I really hope she's with him."

"Let's go girls," Sasha said, "if, God forbid, if something did happen to Kim, we need to act now."

Denise sighed as she watched the girls walk away before she pulled out her cell phone, about to make one of the hardest calls ever. She dialled the number that Kim had given her and held her breath as she heard the ringing.

"_Hello?"_

"Tommy?" Denise said, "it's me Denise, Kim's roommate."

"_Oh hi Denise," Tommy was confused. "Is everything ok?"_

"Uhm...I'm not sure," Denise swallowed, "Tommy, is Kim with you?"

"_No," Tommy answered, "she left my room this morning to go back to the dorm building to get ready for a shopping trip with you." He paused. "Is something wrong?"_

"Yeah," Denise's panic attack built even more, "Kim never showed up and no one has seen since she left the building this morning."

"_What?"_

~...~

Tommy was all smiles as he made his way to the youth centre. He had teleport to his house from Florida, eating the breakfast his mother had, before he decided to join his friends at Ernie's. He was beyond ecstatic that he could be near Kim. When he had spoken to Zordon a few days ago, he had almost expected the being to say no, but to his delight, he hadn't. Zordon had understood and had allowed him permission to teleport to and from Florida; with Billy and Alpha's help, they had been able to hack into the hotel's computer to register as a guest there.

He had spent the last few days by his girlfriend's side and it was beyond wonderful. Now, he was going to meet with his friends. Pulling into the parking lot at the youth centre, he got out and headed inside. He saw his friends sitting at their normal table and jogged over to them.

"Hey guys," Tommy said as he joined them.

"Hey Tommy," everyone replied.

"How was Kim's?" Rocky asked with a smile.

"She's good," Tommy grinned as he sat down. "We spent the time hanging out and now she's out shopping with Deedee."

"Deedee?" Adam asked, looking at his friend in confusion.

"Kim's roommate Denise," Tommy answered.

"And her gymnastic?" Kat asked.

"Really good," Tommy nodded, "she's got even more amazing."

"That's good to hear," Billy smiled at the image Tommy's words created. The friends talked some more before they decided to head to where the exercise equipments were. Kat went and changed into her leotard while Tommy, Rocky and Adam were on the weights while Billy and Tanya sat at a nearby table. Half an hour later, their communicators went off and the rangers looked at each other before they quickly found a secluded place to teleport.

After fighting cogs from the Machine Empire, the rangers made their way back to the gym. The fight had taken longer than expected and they were just looking forward to some downtime. That was not going to happen, as they were about to enter another battle, one a lot more personal.

The friends were talking when Tommy's phone went off.

"Aww, you're girl misses you," Tanya teased Tommy as he pulled his phone from his bag.

"Whatever," Tommy laughed before he answered. "Hello?"

"_Tommy?" Denise said, "it's me Denise, Kim's roommate."_

"Oh hi Denise," Tommy was confused. "Is everything ok?"

"_Uhm...I'm not sure," Denise swallowed, "Tommy, is Kim with you?"_

"No," Tommy answered, "she left my room this morning to go back to the dorm building to get ready for a shopping trip with you." He paused. "Is something wrong?"

"_Yeah," Denise's panic attack built even further, "Kim never showed up and no one has seen since she left the building this morning." _

"What?" Tommy sat up straighter and the others looked at him. "What the hell do you mean no one's seen her?"

The others exchanged looks.

"_Ok," Denise said, "Kim was supposed to meet me at the mall, but she never showed up. I thought she was either with you or she got caught up at the dorm or something, but I talked to some of the girls and no one's seen her since she went to our room to get dressed. Tommy...that was about two hours ago."_

"Alright look," Tommy stood up from his seat, grabbing his bag and throwing it over his shoulder. "Let me get dressed and I'll be at the compound in about ten minutes."

"_Alright," Denise sighed, "I'll see you then." She paused, "maybe we're overreacting and she's ok."_

"Do you really believe that?" Tommy almost growled out.

"_No," Denise shook her head, forgetting he couldn't see her. "I think something's wrong."_

"Ok then," Tommy nodded, "I'll be right there. If something happens to her, whoever did will regret the day they were born."

"_See you soon Tommy," Denise said and then she hung up._

"Tommy," Rocky grabbed his friend's arm just as Tommy was about to jump into his jeep. "What the hell is going on?"

"Kim's missing," Tommy replied.

"What?" the rangers looked at each other.

"What do you mean she's missing?" Tanya asked.

"Exactly that," Tommy ran a hand through his hair. "She was supposed to meet Denise at the mall, but she never showed up."

"Maybe she got caught up doing something," Kat suggested.

"For two hours Kat?" Tommy looked at her and shook his head. "Even if she had, Kim would've called Denise to let her know she was going to be late. She never did. Something's off...I can feel it."

"What are you going to do?" Billy asked.

"I'm going to teleport back to the hotel room," Tommy answered. "And then I'll head over to the compound to get some answers."

"We're coming with," Adam said.

"You can't," Tommy stopped him.

"Tommy, she's our friend," Adam argued, "you can't expect—

"No," Tommy cut him off. "I know that, but don't you think it's going to be a little suspicious if all of us just show up in Miami? And what if there's a monster attack? Look, I'm your leader and I know I don't give orders unless we're in battle, but I'm giving you orders now. You guys are going to go to the Command Chamber where you'll tell Zordon what is going and you're going to get on the globe and monitor things from there."

"If you're sure," Tanya said.

"I am," Tommy nodded.

"Alright," Rocky turned a serious look towards him. "Just go and find out what's happening with our sister. Get her back safely."

"You know it," Tommy smiled briefly before he started his jeep and headed towards his house. The moment he left, the others found a spot and teleported to the Command Chamber.

~...~

Tommy pulled into his driveway fifteen minutes later. He ran inside, locked the door behind him and after checking to make sure his parents weren't home, he headed up to his room and teleported back to the hotel room in Florida. When the light cleared away, he wasted no time in leaving his room and headed to the gym.

When he got there, he saw almost all the gymnasts—both male and female—inside and around the building. He pushed his way through the crowd and made his way further inside.

"Tommy!" he heard his name and looked up to see Denise waving him over. He quickly made his way to her.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked the moment he reached her. "Did they find her?"

"No," Denise shook her head. "We told the coach what was going on and he called all the gymnasts here to question them, but no one's seen her."

Tommy clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists. Inside he was filled with terror at the thought of something happening to Kim. They had just made things right between them...he couldn't lose her now!

"What about the cops?" Tommy asked.

"They said they couldn't do anything because Kim hasn't been missing very long," Denise sighed, "it hasn't been twenty-four hours as yet."

"And in twenty-four hours she could be seriously hurt or worse!" Tommy growled out. "We need to find her now."

"We will Tommy," Denise reached out and touched his arm. "Don't worry; Kim is strong. She won't give up easily. We will find her and whoever took her will pay."

Tommy looked down at her and nodded tightly. None of them noticed Danny watching them smugly across the room.

~...~

Danny stood between the other gymnasts and watched Tommy and Denise with a smug smile on his face. _'You won't be the hero Tommy. I will and Kim will want to be with me again.' _

After watching the two for a few more minutes, Danny moved through the crowd and made his way outside. He looked around to make sure no one was looking at him and then he quickly headed to where he and Alex had Kim stashed.

When he walked in the room, Kim was moving around in the chair, trying to wriggle her hands free. He laughed and she heard it and she glared at him as she started yelling behind the gag.

"I want to take the gag out," Danny said as he walked over to, "but I can't because if I do, you'll start screaming and it's not time for you to be found as yet."

Kim glared him.

"Don't be like that Kim," Danny said as he stopped in front of her and reached out a hand to touch her face, only to have move her head back. He dropped his hand smiled. "It's ok. You'll like my touch. You should know that Tommy's at the gym with everyone else. They're all wondering where you are and if anyone has, who that person is." Danny grinned at her, "but don't worry. They won't find you, at least not yet. You see, I'm going to be the one to find you; I'm going to be the hero and then, you'll dump Tommy and come to me when you see I'm the one that you belong with."

He leaned down and grabbed her head so that he could press a quick kiss to her forehead. "I have to go before someone gets suspicious, but don't worry, I'll be back."

He smiled at her walked back out the room and out the building. He never saw Alex come out of the shadows and head to the room where Kim was tied.

As Danny was walking pass the building, he saw Kim's phone lying on the ground and an idea came to him. Picking it up, he walked a block or two in the opposite direction of the compound before he made his way back to the gym. Placing a horrified look on his face, he quickly moved through the crowd, calling out to his coach.

"Coach Schmidt!" Danny said as he hurried over to where the man was. "Coach Schmidt?"

"What is it Daniel?" Günter turned to the gymnast.

"I found this a few blocks away," he held out the cell phone. "I think it's Kim's."

His words drew gasps from everyone and Tommy and Denise quickly made their way to the two.

"That's Kim's!" Denise pointed to the phone in Schmidt's hands. "Where'd you find it?"

"I was walking to clear my head," Danny said, "Kim is a really good friend and the thought of something happening to her makes me sick. I was a few blocks away when I saw the phone lying on the ground near an alley way."

"Oh my God," Denise's hands flew to her mouth. "Someone did grab her and they must've done it when she was on her way to meet me at the mall."

Tommy could feel fear and anger warring for control inside of him and the periodical clenching of his fists were the only evidence to it; there was no expression on his face or in his eyes that gave way to the emotions. But even with all that, he couldn't help but to look at Danny. There was something about the guy that had warning bells going off in his head. He didn't trust him and Tommy couldn't help but to feel that Danny knew more about Kim's disappearance than anything else. _'Nah...he couldn't have done something to Kim...he loves her...maybe I'm overreacting or something.'_

"I'll talk to the police," Coach Schmidt's voice broke Tommy from his thoughts. "This has to be some kind of proof that Kimberly was taken."

The coach walked off while the gymnasts talked amongst themselves. Denise stood near Tommy's side, clutching his arm in her hands, terrified for her friend and roommate.

Tommy for his part wasn't aware of anything but Danny. He really couldn't shake the feeling that the gymnast knew more that he was letting on. He knew that Danny was somehow involved in Kim disappearing; how, he didn't know. Shaking his head, he forced his thoughts from Danny and to Kim. He needed to find her; if anything happened to her, he'd never get over it. He loved Kim more than anything and he couldn't imagine not having her in his life.

Tommy closed his eyes in despair and to hide the sudden tears. _'Where are you Beautiful?'_

~...~

Alex grinned as he watched Danny walk away. When Danny closed the door, he moved from his hiding spot and headed to the room Kim was in. His grin widened when he saw the fear on her face when she spotted him.

"Hello Kimberly," Alex walked up to her. He placed a hand on both sides of the chair and leaned in close to Kim, sniffing her hair. "You and I are going to have some fun together."

Kim whimpered and tried to move away, but the rope around her body prevented that from happening. She was completely terrified out of her mind. She couldn't believe that Danny had kidnapped her. She thought they were friends, but what he did and the things he said, showed her they weren't friends and that she didn't really know him.

And this Alex guy, she didn't like the look in his eyes; it scared her more than anything ever had. Not even being kidnapped by Zedd had terrified her this much. Immediately her mind flew to her boyfriend; she wondered how he was feeling right now. _'Scared, terrified, helpless...same way I'm feeling right now...'_

"Hey!" Alex backhanded her and her head flew to the side. "Pay attention."

Tears stung Kim's eyes from the blow.

"Danny-boy wants to keep you for a day or two and then "rescue" you," Alex told her, "he'd be the hero and you'd fall in love and dump that boyfriend of yours for him. But I have a different plan."

He leaned in close again, close enough that Kim could feel his breath on her face.

"You see," Alex started, "I think Danny is wasting his time because you and I know there's no way you're going to fall in love with him. So he should just get rid of you instead."

Kim's eyes flew to his and the horrified look in them made him chuckle.

"Oh don't worry," Alex leaned back and moved his hand, running over her body. "I'm not going to kill you, after all, there's a much, much better use for you. And after I'm done, you'll probably wish for death anyways."

Kim whimpered and cried silently as tears filled her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks. She knew what he planned to do and a part of her couldn't help but to wish he'd kill her instead. She looked at Alex, pleading with her eyes for him to not do what he planned and to just let her go.

Alex laughed when he saw the look in Kim's eyes. "No way am I letting you go. Not until I sample that sweet body of yours."

Kim's body started shaking with her cries. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. She had to wonder if this was her punishment for leading on Danny, for the way she broke things off or rather, stopped them before they began.

Alex leaned up and took a step away. "Ok. I won't be able to do what I want here as the cops might look here sooner or later, so we'll have to leave. And I know just the place to go."

Alex grabbed a board, one just slightly smaller than a baseball bat, and walked up to Kim. "This is going to hurt."

Kim shook her head and screamed behind the gag.

Alex grinned and lifted the board, brought it down heavily and whacked Kim across her head, knocking her unconscious with blood running down the side of her head. He untied her and lifted her into his arms, shifting her body so that her bleeding head fell against him and out of sight.

With a smile, Alex carried Kim out of the room and out of the building. He headed to where his car was parked—about two buildings below—and tried to fish his keys out of his pocket without jostling Kim's body.

"Need some help man?" a male voice asked and he turned to see an older man standing just a short distance away.

"Sure," Alex smiled disarmingly, "could you grab my keys from my pocket and open my door for me? I'd greatly appreciate it."

"Alright," the man nodded and walked up to him, carefully pulling the keys out. "Is she ok?"

"Yeah," Alex chuckled, "she's been working hard nonstop all morning, despite my many attempts to get her to rest. Her body finally gave into exhaustion."

"I understand that," the man laughed as he unlocked the doors. "My wife is the same way sometimes. Here you go."

"Thank you," Alex nodded and he placed Kim's body in the backseat.

"Is that blood?" the man gestured to where he saw the blood on Kim's side of her head.

"Unfortunately," Alex's smile dimmed a bit, "I wasn't able to catch her in time and she hit her head on a side table when she fell to the floor."

"Ouch," the man winced in sympathy. "Clean it out with some peroxide and she should be fine. If it's worse than it initially looks, just take her to the hospital."

"Will do," Alex nodded as he straightened. "Well, thanks for all your help."

"No problem," the man waved his words away. "I hope the lady feels better and listens to you from now on."

"Hopefully," Alex grinned, "if she knows what's good for her."

The man laughed and walked away and Alex scowled briefly before he quickly got into his car and pulled out into traffic, making his way to his house. He glanced at Kim's body in his backseat and couldn't stop the smirk from curling on his lips. He was going to have fun with her and the bonus, Danny would be freaking out when he saw that both he and Kim were gone. He couldn't wait.

~...~

Danny scowled as he lay on his bed in his dorm room. After Schmidt had called the cops informing them of finding the cell phone, the cops had shown up and all the other gymnasts were on lockdown—meaning, they couldn't go anywhere without an escort and their only places to go were their dorm building and the gym. Hence the reason Danny was pissed; he had wanted to check on Kim.

He glanced at the clock; it was just a little after one. Three hours since he had last seen Kim and he really needed to go to her. Sighing in frustration, Danny got up and left his room.

"Hey man," Seth greeted.

"Hey," Danny groused as he headed to the kitchen.

"It's so bad about Kim," Seth continued, "I hope she's ok and they find her."

"I know," Danny agreed.

"That boyfriend of hers though," Seth shook his head, not seeing Danny's eyes narrow in anger or the way his hands balled into fists. "He looked ready to rip someone a new one. I think if he finds the guy who did this, he's gonna kick his ass real bad."

Danny seethed as he stood in the kitchen. Seems everything was about Tommy and how he was feeling. _'It doesn't matter. When I "rescue" Kim, everyone will be grateful and Kim will fall in love with me and I'll never have to see Tommy again.'_

Danny said nothing to Seth though and headed back to his room, where he spent the rest of the night tossing and turning.

~...~

It was late the next morning when Danny woke up, but he didn't mind. As he got dressed, he thought on the next part of his plan. He left his room, noticing Seth wasn't there and figured his roommate was already at the girls' gym, so he headed there himself. When he walked in, he saw everybody there and decided to put his plan into action.

Arranging his expression into disbelief and hope, he quickly made his way to Coach Schmidt's office.

"Coach Schmidt!" Danny yelled as he moved through the crowds. "Coach Schmidt! I have-I have something to tell you."

"What is it Daniel?" Schmidt turned to look at him as did others.

"I saw something," Danny panted like he had just run a long distance. "I was looking out my window and I think I saw something in that old, abandoned building."

"What?" Schmidt stared at him before looking at the other coaches. Excited whispers moved through the room like a blaze of fire.

"I'll show you," Danny said and turned to head out, Schmidt and others following him. He was unaware of the intense scrutiny Tommy was looking at him.

Smiling inwardly, Danny quickly made his way to the building where he and Alex kept Kim.

"In here," Danny said as he entered the building. "I saw someone duck in here."

"Spread out and search," Officer Cain, the cop who had stayed at the compound, ordered.

Danny knew his chance was now and headed to the room Kim was in. He opened the door, shouting. "I've found—

He stopped short when he realized that Kim wasn't tied to the chair. _'What the hell? Where is she?'_

"What did you find?" Schmidt asked. When he came up behind Danny, he stopped and stared in shock before yelling for the cop. "Over here!"

Others made their way to the pair and Officer Cain forced his way through and into the room. They all saw the chair and the rope.

"My God," Cain murmured. "I think this is where they had her."

"But not anymore," Schmidt shook his head. "What Danny saw was probably whoever took her moving her."

"But," Denise asked as she looked around the room with tears in her eyes. "Wouldn't someone have noticed a guy walking out with Kim? I mean, even if she was gagged."

"No they wouldn't have," Tommy's body was tense as he stared at the ground.

"Why would you say that son?" Cain asked.

"Because of that," Tommy gestured to the blood covered board lying on the ground.

"Oh God," Denise's hands flew to her mouth.

"Alright," Cain turned to everyone. "Everyone out. This is now a crime scene. Do not touch anything and be careful of the way you walk out. We need to preserve this as much as possible."

"That's kind of a moot point since we already disturbed the scene," Seth muttered as he and others turned to walk away.

Tommy wasn't listening to them. He was too busy staring at the board. It was covered in blood, Kim's blood, and he knew that his girlfriend was seriously hurt. They needed to find her.

"Tommy?" Denise walked up to him and touched his arm, but got no response. "Stay strong, ok? We will find her."

Tommy said nothing as his chest heaved. He could feel the ranger powers inside him reacting to his emotions. If his eyes had been visible to anyone, they would've seen the way the glowed green. Lifting his head, he looked at Denise before he looked around the room. His gaze caught on Danny and his eyes narrowed as he took in the male gymnast.

Danny was panicking. _'No! No! No! Where the hell is she? This was supposed to be my moment! Alex, damnit! What the hell did you do?'_

He resisted the urge to start pacing as he didn't want to look guilty. He didn't realize his racing eyes already gave him away.

"You!" Tommy's voice shook him from his thoughts and he looked up to see the guy coming towards him.

"You did this!" Tommy moved before anyone else even realized it and he slammed Danny against the wall. "WHERE IS SHE? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER YOU SON OF A BITCH?" He slammed Danny's head on the wall before throwing him to the floor, straddling him. "TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO HER!"

"GET OFF ME!" Danny tried to defend himself. "I DID NOTHING!"

The only response from Tommy was a barrage of fists. Everyone was stunned as they watched Tommy kicking the crap out of Danny.

Officer Cain finally pulled out of his stupor and went to pull Tommy off, but found he couldn't. He gestured for help; in the end, it took five guys to wrestle Tommy away from Danny's beaten body.

"Calm down!" Cain shouted at Tommy.

"He's lying!" Tommy struggled in their arms. "He knows what happened to her. I can see it in his eyes!"

The others turned to look at Danny, some flinching at the battered face, and he looked away.

"Is this true?" Cain asked. "Did you have anything to do with Kimberly's disappearance?"

"I don't know where she is," Danny muffled out.

"Liar!" Tommy's struggles renewed. Again, no one was looking at him, so no one saw his eyes flash green.

"I'm not lying," Danny looked at them. "I don't know where she is...now." the last word was whispered.

"Now?" Denise asked. She had heard him as she had been standing right next to him. "Oh my God, Tommy's right. You had something to do with this."

"Danny?" Schmidt looked at his gymnast. "Did you have some part in this?"

Danny didn't answer and for them, that was an answer enough.

Tommy finally broke free from the men, but instead of attacking Danny like they thought, he stood still. When he spoke, his voice was soft, but it sounded so dark, that everyone in the room, Danny especially, shivered when they heard it. "I will find her, and if anything happens to her, and I do mean anything, then not even the cops will stop me from getting to you and finishing what I started."

The pure rage the radiated from Tommy's body had everyone giving him a wide berth and he quickly made his way out of the building. Finding a secluded spot, he raised his wrist and teleported back to the Command Chamber.

~...~

When he landed, he saw that the others were there.

"Tommy!" the others started towards him, but when his eyes flashed green, they all stopped.

"Billy," Tommy spoke in a controlled voice, but the rage was clearly heard. "I need you to check and see if Kim's communicator can still emit a signal."

"Ok," Billy didn't even question why that was. He could tell his friend and leader was in no mood and needed answers right away.

"Tommy," Rocky took a step closer. "What happened? Is Kim ok?"

Tommy closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he opened them again. He walked over to the console and explained everything that had happened to the others. When he was done, Tanya and Kat looked horrified, Billy looked troubled, Alpha was repeating Ai-yi-yi, Zordon was quiet and Rocky and Adam, both their eyes held a rage that almost rivalled Tommy's.

"I hope you kicked his ass good," Rocky hissed, and Adam nodded in agreement, causing the others to look at them in shock.

Only Tommy wasn't shocked as he knew how close Rocky and Adam were with Kim. It's also one of the reasons why the blue and green ranger had been so upset to know about the letter and had been so happy when they heard they were back together.

"I found it!" Billy exclaimed. "Kim's communicator is—Tommy, it's about ten blocks from the compound."

"What's the address?" Tommy asked.

Billy rattled off the address to Tommy, who nodded. He raised his wrist, about to teleport when Adam stopped him.

"Bring her back," He said. "And whoever took, make him pay."

"If you don't," Rocky added, "we will."

"Got it," Tommy said before he disappeared, leaving the others staring at the two.

"I don't think I've ever heard you guys like that before," Kat said, still looking at them in shock.

Adam and Rocky looked at each other and shrugged before Adam explained why they reacted the way they did.

~...~

Tommy teleported back in the spot he left. He saw that mostly everyone was gone—only a few cops were there with the building taped off—so he headed to the compound. When he got there, he saw Officer Cain along with the coaches.

"Tommy," Denise called out to him and left her boyfriend's side to walk over to him. "Where'd you go?"

"I had to call a friend," Tommy said. "I know where Kim is."

"What?" Micah, one of the coaches for the boys, was walking by when he heard him. "Did you just say you know where Kim is?"

His question drew attention and it travelled through the gym until it reached Schmidt and Cain, prompting the two to walk over to him.

"What's going on?" Cain asked.

"I know where Kim is," Tommy repeated as he looked at the two.

"How?" Denise asked, hope lighting up her eyes.

"You know the bracelet that Kim wears," Tommy said, "the one that looks like a watch?"

"Yes?" Coach Schmidt nodded.

"It has a GPS chip inside it," Tommy explained, "Kim used to do some volunteer with us back in Angle Grove and the guy that heads it, he gave all of us the bracelets with a chip. It was so we could know where one of us would be during our volunteer work. I was outside trying to calm down when I remembered the bracelet, so I called one of our friends and asked him to try and track the chip."

"And he found it?" Cain asked as excited whispers broke out among the gymnasts.

"Yes," Tommy nodded, "he told me the chip is about ten blocks from here. He gave me an address."

"What is it?" Cain asked and took the address from Tommy. "Everyone stay here. If this guy is dangerous, we don't want to spook him and have Ms. Hart hurt."

"I'm going with you," Tommy walked up to him.

"I don't t—

"I don't care what you think!" Tommy cut him off. "That's my girlfriend, and I'll be damned if I stay here while she needs me. Now, either I come with you, or I'll find my own way."

Cain stared at Tommy for a few seconds before he nodded. "Alright, but you do as I say, got it?"

Tommy nodded and the two turned to leave the gym.

"Be careful," Denise snagged Tommy's arm as he passed her. "Be safe."

"I will," Tommy nodded and followed after Cain. His entire being filled with determination.

~...~

Kim groaned as she slowly opened her eyes; her head was still pounding from the blow that Alex had given her yesterday. She looked around the room, half hoping he wasn't there. After he had knocked her out, she had woken later that day in this room. It seemed like a basement and she wondered if it was his house. When she had opened her eyes then, he had been sitting on the steps watching her.

He had spent the rest of the afternoon and the night touching her—her clothes were still on thankfully—and telling her just what he would do to her. With each touch and each word that left his mouth, she was filled with disgust, revulsion and fear—a fear she had never experienced before. He had even taunted her about Danny's plan in everything and she had never felt so stupid in her life; she couldn't believe she had trusted him.

She had barely gotten any sleep last night, as Alex had spent the night taunting her and whenever she did sleep, her dreams were filled with the images that he had planted in her mind. This morning when she had woken, or rather, when he had woken her, she had pleaded with him to let her go, but he refused. When he tried to touch her, she had mouthed off to him, resulting in him hitting her; the blow was hard enough to knock her unconscious again.

Now, she was in the darkened room alone. She groaned as she looked around, hoping to find something—anything—that would help her out. No such luck. She heard footsteps above her before she heard the door open; a small stream of light flooded down the stairs and she watched in apprehension as Alex walked down the stairs. When he got to the bottom, he flicked the switch on the wall, turning the lights on. Kim flinched slightly from the brightness.

"Hello darling," Alex grinned. "I hope you're going to behave today. Or better yet, don't behave, it makes things more exciting."

"Please," Kim pleaded softly, "just let me go."

"When I'm done with you," Alex sneered, "maybe I'll let you go. Time to play." He walked over to her and touched her cheek with his left hand and she tried moving her head away, but he just followed.

He brought his right hand up and Kim's eyes went wide when she saw the knife.

"Please, please," tears filled Kim's eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks. "Don't do this."

Alex laughed and used the knife to tear Kim's shirt. He leaned in to kiss her chest when the noise of sirens sounded, causing him to jerk from her and look up in disbelief.

"What the hell?" Growling, Alex left Kim's side and headed upstairs.

The moment he was gone, Kim whimpered in relief.

~...~

Tommy held on as Officer Cain raced to Alex's house. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest at the thought of his girlfriend with the guy and finding her.

Five squad cars pulled to a stop in front of Alex's house, the sirens going, drawing the neighbours out of their homes to investigate.

Tommy didn't wait for Cain's car to stop before he bolted from the car.

"Hey!" Cain yelled out as he quickly got out. "Wait, you don't know if the guy is armed."

"I don't care," Tommy shouted as he hurried to the house. Before he got close, the door opened and Alex walked out. Tommy's eyes glowed green, causing Alex to widen his own in shock, before he let out a roar of rage and leaped onto Alex, slamming him into the side of the house.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?" He yelled as he punched him, breaking his nose. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" he brought his fists down into Alex's stomach, the force behind it causing one of Alex's ribs to crack.

Cain and the other cops pulled Tommy off, but he was too enraged for them to hold him. His eyes were glowing green, evidence of the ranger power flowing strongly through his body. He went to attack Alex again, but a scream stopped him dead in his tracks.

"HELP!"

"Kim!" Tommy breathed out before he took off like a bullet into the house. "Kimberly!"

"DOWN HERE!" Kim shouted up. "I'M IN THE BASEMENT!"

Tommy moved through the house, some cops behind him and soon came to the doorway to the basement. He ignored Cain's cries of 'hold on' and quickly went down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom for a brief second before he hurried to Kim's side.

"Kimberly," Tommy whispered as he gently ran his hands over her body. He winced slightly when he saw the bruise and dried blood on her head.

"Hi Handsome," Kim whispered back with a smile before her eyes rolled into her head and her body went limp.

"Kimberly!" Tommy's eyes widened in fear and he grabbed Kim's body. He heard the cops coming closer and quickly removed his over shirt and draped it over Kim's body. "Help me."

Cain walked over with a knife and cut the ropes from Kim's body. He stepped back and watched as Tommy gently pulled Kim's body into his arms and slowly moved to his feet.

"We need to get her to a hospital," Tommy looked at Cain.

"I'll take you," Cain nodded before he turned to the other cops. "Secure the scene and get that scumbag down to the department."

"Got it sir," an officer nodded and to left to carry out the orders.

"Come on," Cain gestured to Tommy and they made their way out of the basement and out to the car.

~...~

After Tommy got to the hospital, he called Denise to let her know that they'd find Kim and then he found a secluded spot to teleport home to let the others know as well before teleporting back. He got back just in time to see Denise, Antonio and Coach Schmidt walk into the waiting room.

"How is she?" Denise asked.

"I don't know yet," Tommy told her, "they took her back ten minutes ago."

"Come here," Denise pulled him into a hug. "I knew you'd find her. I'm so glad you did."

"So am I," Tommy squeezed her briefly before pulling away.

"Do you know who took her?" Antonio asked.

Tommy launched into the tale of how they found Kim and who they found her with. Neither one had any idea of who Alex really was, but they knew he somehow knew Danny.

"Mr. Oliver," a doctor walked out from behind the double doors and headed towards the four of them.

"Yes?" Tommy turned to the man. "How is Kim?"

The doctor looked at him before explaining. "She suffered some blows to the head which lead to a concussion. Thankfully, we were able to get to her in time before it became too severe. The blood loss did worry us for a bit, but we stopped the bleeding and patched her up."

"So she's going to be fine?" Denise asked.

"She's unconscious right now," the doctor continued, "but yes, she's going to make a full recovery."

"Doctor," Antonio spoke up. "I always thought that people with concussions weren't supposed to sleep for fear of them dying from it."

"It's not that they're not supposed to sleep," the doctor said, "you're just supposed to wake them up every few hours to check on them. In Ms. Hart's case, my guess is whoever did this, kept her up most, if not all, of the night, thus preventing her concussion from becoming worse."

"Can I see her?" Tommy asked.

"Sure," the doctor nodded, "she should be in her room by now."

"Thank you," Schmidt said and the four followed the doctor back to where Kim's room was.

"Here you go," the doctor gestured to Kim's room.

They nodded and entered the room. Denise gasped when she saw her roommate lying on the bed with her head bandaged and Tommy immediately went to his girlfriend's side, easing into the chair by her bed and pulling it as close as it could go. Denise sat in the one on the other side.

"We'll keep her overnight just as a precaution," the doctor said, "and if all goes well, she'll be released in the morning, the afternoon at the latest."

"Thank you," Tommy said, his eyes never leaving Kim's.

The doctor nodded once and then left the room.

Tommy grabbed Kim's hand between his own and pressed a kiss to it. "It's ok Beautiful. You're safe now. Everything will be alright."

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2: **and that's chapter three. Hope you guys liked it. Again, I'm really sorry about the long wait. Remember guys, now that you've read, don't forget to review.

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><p><strong>Reviewers for previous chapter:<br>****hopelessromanticgurl; VampDGurl; Taeniaea; brankel1; Princesskarlita411; sabina21; RFK22; oldtvlover; andyg2525; Pinkrangerfan; mae-E; Jeremy Shane; Falcon4Crane; general-joseph-dickson; NANLIT; Young at Heart21**


	4. The Dragon's 'Hart'

**Title: **Reclaiming His Crane**  
>Author: <strong>Mykkila09**  
>Chapter: <strong>4 of 5  
><strong>Chapter Title: <strong>The Dragon's 'Hart'  
><strong>Settings: <strong>during ZEO and then TURBO; starts out with that atrocious episode, _"There's No Business like Snow Business" _and that God-awful letter and ends with T: APRM.**  
>Story Summary: <strong>Tommy gets the letter and after thinking things over, he decides not to let things end that way and to follow his heart. This story is more like a series of connected one-shots.  
><strong>Chapter Summary: <strong>After dealing with everything that happened with Danny, Tommy and Kim move on with their lives, but soon find out that a ranger's life, former or not, comes with its own set of problems as the Machine Empire makes a move against the rangers.

**Chapter Word Count: 8,939**

**A/N: **So sorry for the long wait you guys; I've been going through some medical problems and then, when I finally started getting better, my sister ended up in the hospital and gave birth to her baby (his name's Dionté), so time has been spent getting him settled. Two-three weeks ago I finally re-started on working on my stories. This chapter was supposed to be posted over the weekend gone, but it wasn't ready in time, but now it is. Again, so very sorry for the long wait and I hope you guys like it. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban; no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. If you didn't get that...I do **NOT** own and I am **NOT**making any money off of this.

'_Thinking'  
><em>"Speaking"

**O.P.D.: **Wednesday 17th August, '11

* * *

><p>The next morning found Tommy in Kim's hospital room, his head resting on the side of the bed while his left hand was holding on to both of hers. A noise drew him out of his sleep and he looked up and saw a nurse at the other side of Kim's bed.<p>

"Sorry to wake you," the nurse smiled apologetically. "I just need to check her vitals."

Tommy sat up with a yawn. "How is she doing?"

"She's doing good," the nurse smiled at him. "Her vitals are still stable, so it's safe to say she should be awakening soon."

"And brain damage?" Tommy asked.

"I doubt there's any," the nurse replied, "but when she wakes up, we'll know for sure."

"Alright," Tommy nodded. He watched as the nurse left the room before turning back to Kim. He bent over and kissed her forehead before getting up from his seat, grabbing the gym bag that was under the chair and headed to the bathroom. After they had brought Kim to her room, he had waited until the others had left before he teleported back home; he had let the others know what was going on and had told his parents he would be sleeping over at Billy's—which was perfect since Billy's dad was out of town for the next two weeks—and the others had done the same. After packing his gym bag, he had teleported back down.

Changing out of his clothes, Tommy took a quick shower before heading back to Kim's side. He had just sat down when she started groaning.

"Kim?" he grabbed her hand and leaned forward. "Come on Beautiful, it's time to wake up."

She groaned again, but this time, she opened her eyes and shifted her head to look at him. "T-Tommy?"

"Yeah Beautiful," Tommy smiled through his tears. "It's me."

Kim closed her eyes briefly before opening them. "What," she licked her lips and spoke slower. "What happened?"

"What do you remember?" Tommy asked instead on answering. "Do you know where you are?"

Kim looked at him, her eyes curious, as her mind searched through her memory. "I—the last thing I remember is Alex and shouting and you." She moved her gaze from him and looked around the room. "Am I in the hospital?"

"Yeah, you're in the hospital," Tommy nodded, "you were kidnapped by Danny and Alex. We found you yesterday. Alex took you to his house and had you in his basement."

Memories flew through Kim's mind and she closed her eyes as they assaulted her. After a few minutes, she reopened her eyes and looked at her boyfriend. "I remember. What about, what about Alex and D-Danny?"

"They were arrested," Tommy replied.

Kim's body relaxed in relief before she tensed once more and looked at Tommy with panicked eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Tommy laughed. "It's fine. My parents think I'm sleeping over at Billy's, because the others are sleeping over there as a cover. Luckily, his dad is out of town and won't be back for about two weeks."

"Oh, ok," Kim smiled at him.

"I am so glad you're ok Kim," Tommy said, becoming serious as he grabbed Kim's hand. "I was scared when I got the call from Denise telling me what happened."

"I was scared too," Kim admitted softly, shifting on the bed to face him better. "When Alex was taunting me about everything he was going to do to me..." she shivered as she remembered his words. "I knew you'd find me, but I wasn't sure how or what shape I would be in when you did."

"I almost killed him," Tommy reached out to brush her hair from her face. "Him and Danny; when I figured out that Danny was involved with your being kidnapped," he closed his eyes briefly, "Kim, I was so angry and full of rage; I haven't felt like that since—

"Since you were under Rita's spell," Kim finished for him.

"Yeah," Tommy nodded, "they had to pull me off of him—him and Alex."

Kim squeezed his hand as she listened to him; she could imagine how he had felt as she was sure she would've felt and reacted the same way.

"I think I could've killed them both," Tommy admitted softly. "I was so into my anger that I think I could've done it."

"No," Kim shook her head, "you wouldn't have."

"Kim—

"Tommy," she cut him off. "I get that you were beyond angry—green ranger pissed—but I know you and I know that no matter how angry you were, you wouldn't have killed either one of them." She reached out a hand to cup his cheek. "You're just not that kind of guy."

Tommy stared at her for a few seconds before he leaned into her touch and smiled. "I love you...so much."

"I love you too," Kim smiled in response.

The opening of the door drew their attention from each other. The doctor walked in and he smiled when he saw Kim awake.

"Ms. Hart," he walked over to her bed and checked her vitals. "It's good to see you awake. How do you feel?"

"Like I went a few rounds with Tyson," Kim said.

"Well," the doctor chuckled as he pulled a penlight from his pocket. "At least you still have your ears. Follow the light." He shined the light in her eyes and smiled in approval when he saw them dilate in response. "Good. Headache?"

"Not really," Kim answered, "just a slight pounding."

"Ok," the doctor nodded, "I'll have the nurse bring you some painkiller."

"So can she go home?" Tommy asked as he looked at the doctor.

"I want her to stay just for a couple of hours," the doctor said, "to make sure there isn't any problems and if everything looks ok in, say," he looked at his watch, "an hour or so, then yes, she's free to go."

"Thank you," Kim smiled.

"You're welcome," the doctor said before he left the room. The door had barely closed before it opened again to reveal Denise and Antonio.

"Kimberly," Denise smiled when she saw her friend and roommate. "You're awake."

"Hey Dee," Kim smiled as she relaxed against her pillow.

"How are you?" Denise asked as she sat on the bed near Tommy.

"I'm good," Kim answered, "the doctor said I'll be released in an hour or two."

"That's good," Antonio smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Me too," Denise smiled, "I'm so glad you're ok Kim."

"So am I," Kim grinned, "so tell me, what have I missed?"

"Well," Denise started.

Tommy sat in his chair and watched the two girls interact. He knew he had to contact the others to let them know about Kim, but that would have to wait. He was content right now with just having Kim to himself.

~...~

Later that afternoon, after Kim was released from the hospital, she and Tommy made their way to the police station; they wanted to confront Danny and Alex and find out why they did what they did and what was going to happen to them.

"Officer Cain," Tommy called out when he spotted the man as he and Kim walked into the building.

"Mr. Oliver," Cain stopped and walked over to the two of them. "It's good to see you out of the hospital Ms. Hart."

"Thank you," Kim smiled, "it's good to be out."

"What are you guys doing here?" Cain asked as he led them over to his desk.

"Danny and Alex," Tommy answered. "What's going to happen to them?"

"Well," Cain sat down and gestured for them to take a seat. "They're going to be processed and then they're going to be locked away for a good while."

"Will there be a trial?" Kim asked; as bad as it sounded, she really hoped not. She didn't think she could deal with seeing either one again.

"Normally," Cain leaned forward, "yes, but both boys were caught red-handed. They'll be taken to court, but that'll be for sentencing and it won't require a jury or anything like that. It'll just be them and the judge."

"Did they say why they took Kim?" Tommy asked. "Did Alex say why he helped Danny? I mean, you'd have to be nuts to help someone do something like this."

Cain nodded. "Apparently, a few years ago, Alex was in some trouble and Danny helped him under the condition that'd he owe him, so Danny collected on his favour."

"But then Alex decided to betray Danny and took me for himself," Kim concluded with a shaky breath.

"But thanks to your boyfriend here," Cain nodded to Tommy, "we found you before he could do any permanent damage."

Kim looked at Tommy, silently wondering what he had done.

Interpreting the look correctly, Tommy smiled and lifted the wrist that held her communicator. "Your bracelet; I had our friends and mentor track you through it."

Her eyes lit up in understanding and she nodded and smiled at him. "I'm glad I decided to wear then." She turned back to Officer Cain. "So, there's nothing you need me to do?"

"No," Cain shook his head, "unless you want to see either one of them?"

Kim bit her lip and thought on his question. She felt Tommy squeeze her hand and squeezed his back in reply. "No, I don't. As far as I'm concerned, if I never see either one of them again, it's okay with me."

"Then the case is basically closed," Cain told her.

Kim closed her eyes in relief before she reopened them to smile gratefully at Cain. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Cain smiled back.

"Well we'll go then," Tommy said and stood up—Kim and Cain following suit—and he held out his free hand to the cop to shake. "Thanks for everything."

"No problem," Cain shook his hand. "Have a good day."

"You too," Kim replied, "bye."

The two turned and left the station, feeling lighter than when they had entered.

~...~

It was now August, three months since Kim's kidnapping and things had moved along. After much talking over with Tommy, she had decided to continue her training in Florida. Tommy had headed back to Angel Grove for good about two days after they had left the police station.

Kim found that she was much more relaxed and free than she had been before and that made her more focused and determined. Her gymnastics improved greatly and she was beyond happy for it.

As for the rangers, things had moved along for them as well; the rangers had gotten a new ranger. A being from Triforia—a distant planet—name King Trey had come to Earth to seek help from Zordon. What had shocked the rangers was that the man had been split into three parts and he needed to pass on his powers. To their surprise, Jason had been chosen and he had received the powers of the Gold Ranger.

Things were looking up for everybody and for once, things seem to be going well for the rangers...a little too well.

~...~

As was the norm, Tommy and the others were at the park; the boys were playing tag football, while Billy, Kat and Tanya sat on a bench a few feet away talking. It was early afternoon, but the temperature wasn't too high and the breeze blowing made the moment perfect. It was about to be ruined.

The guys had just finished up their game and were heading back to the table where the others were when the sky suddenly changed colours and cogs appeared.

"Shit!" Rocky exclaimed as he and the others dropped into a fighting stance even as the park occupants ran screaming.

"Today of all days," Kat groaned as she hurried from her seat to where the boys were, falling into her fighting stance next to Jason.

"Let's get rid of these guys!" Jason said and they took that as their cue to attack.

"IT'S MORPHIN TIME!" Tommy shouted.

"ZEO RANGER ONE: PINK!" Kat yelled as she morphed into her pink suit.

"ZEO RANGER TWO: YELLOW!" Tanya followed.

"ZEO RANGER THREE: BLUE!" Rocky shouted.

"ZEO RANGER FOUR: GREEN!" Adam shouted.

"ZEO RANGER FIVE: RED!" Tommy yelled.

"GOLD RANGER POWER!" Jason finished the morphing sequence and six rangers stood where the teens were.

Wasting no time, the rangers immediately got into the fight. The battle was as intense as it always was, but this time, there seemed to be something different, something off, about the cogs. This time, they seemed to have a purpose instead of the blind, fatal attacks they always did.

After being blasted away, the rangers rolled on the ground before moving to their feet and re-grouping.

"Something's different," Tommy panted out as he steadied himself.

"I can feel it too," Rocky said in agreement.

The cogs attacked again before either ranger could think anymore on the shift in the cogs. Soon, they found themselves separated from each and singled out.

Jason fought off the cogs surrounding him and looked around at the others, noticing that they were all fighting two or three cogs...except for Tommy, who seemed to be fighting a whole army.

Knowing his friend and teammate needed help, he quickly made his way to him, or he tried to but found his path blocked by more cogs.

Tommy grunted as he kicked a cog away before ducking a blow from another. He was surrounded, but he was determined not to let them defeat him. Destroying one cog, he turned to destroy another, but found himself thrown to the ground from a blow to the back. Groaning, he rolled over and got back to his feet.

"Damn," Adam growled out, "these stupid things seem a lot harder to destroy."

"I know," Kat agreed as she fought her own cogs.

"Guys," Jason, who had been able to get away from his own cogs, made his way to Kat and Adam. "Tommy needs help."

"What?" Kat tried looking around for their leader, but found her attention caught by the cog coming at her.

"He's surrounded," Tanya said as she and Rocky joined them. "We got to help him."

"If we could get away," Rocky grunted out as he kicked a cog away.

The rangers summoned their blasters, shooting at the cogs that came at them. They quickly made their way to Tommy, who was surrounded by even more cogs, but found their path blocked.

"Shit!" they all exclaimed. With renewed vigour, they fought the cogs, getting separated from each other once more. The rangers fought, but it seemed like the more they destroyed the cogs, the more showed up.

Jason was blasted back by one, shouting out in pain when he hit his shoulder as he landed.

"Jason!" Tommy's shout rang out and the red ranger tried to make his way to the fallen gold ranger. "Whoa!" gritting his teeth, he concentrated on fighting the cogs. He took a step forward, blaster at the ready, when he felt a blow to the back of his helmet. It was enough to send him to his knees. He felt the cogs grab his arms, but was too disoriented to fight. The last thing he saw was his friends fighting and a green light before his eyes fell close.

Jason shook his head, before getting back up, groaning as he did so. A cog raised its weapon to hit him, but he summoned his staff and brought it up, deflecting the blow, before kicking the cog away. He raised his blaster, but to his shock and surprise, the cog disappeared.

"What the..." he looked around and noticed that the others were just as surprised and confused.

"Where's Tommy?" Kat asked as she looked around for their leader.

The others did the same, powering down as they did so.

"They took him," Jason clenched his hands into fists and the realization slowly sank into the others. "It was trick. They wanted Tommy, that's why they separated us like that. It's him they were after."

"Oh God," Kat's hand flew to her mouth while the other reached out to grab Tanya's.

"Let's go to the Command Chamber," Adam said. "We need to talk to Zordon."

The others nodded before they teleported out.

~...~

Across town, a young girl smiled as she left the airport and stepped into a taxi. She gave the driver her directions and then relaxed back into her seat. As the taxi drove away from the airport and through the streets of Angel Grove, her gaze moved to the window and she smiled as she watched the familiar places pass by.

About an hour later, the taxi pulled into a driveway and after paying him, she got out, grabbed her bags from the trunk and headed up the walk to the house. Placing her bags on the ground, she bent down and removed the key from under the flower pot and unlocked the door.

Pocketing the key, she pushed the door open, picked up her bags and headed inside. Closing the door with her foot, she walked straight to the staircase and went upstairs. She went to the second door on the left just a few feet into the hallway and opened the door. Smiling, she walked into the bedroom and placed her bags into the closet and then moved to the bed and sat down, running her hands over the bedspread.

Sighing, she looked around the room. _'It's so good to be home.' _Her eyes caught the picture on the bedside table and she leaned across the bed to pick it up. Her fingers traced the couple and she grinned at the obvious love between the two.

"You're going to be so surprised to see me Handsome," she laughed softly.

~...~

Prince Gasket, of the Machine Empire, stood in the throne room as he waited for news on the mission he had sent his servants on. He knew that it would be difficult as the troublesome rangers had been given him problems from the start, but the mission was too simple to mess up.

"My Prince." A voice behind him sounded and he turned to see his General standing there.

"General," Gasket said as he walked forward. "The mission?"

"A success My Liege," the General replied. "They were able to capture him and bring him back."

"Excellent," Gasket chuckled as he left the room and headed to where the ranger was held. He stepped into the room and looked down at Tommy's unconscious form. "Soon red ranger, you shall be my evil minion and the rangers shall be destroyed once and for all."

Evil chuckling filled the room and even in his unconscious state, Tommy's body twitched.

~...~

When the rangers landed in the Command Chamber, they were in front of Zordon's tube.

"Zordon," Kat started.

"I know Katherine," Zordon interrupted the pink ranger. "The Machine Empire has taken Tommy hostage."

"What are we going to do Zordon?" Tanya asked, "What do they want with him?"

"There's only one reason the Machine Empire would kidnap a ranger," Jason spoke up, "and the leader at that."

"What's that?" Tanya turned to Jason.

"He's going to turn him," Billy said. "Gasket is going to turn Tommy evil."

"Fuck," Rocky exhaled as he briefly closed his eyes.

"My sentiments exactly Rocky," Adam said.

~...~

Tommy moaned as he fought his way to consciousness. He blinked a few times, to clear the fog in front of his eyes, before he slowly opened them fully.

"Oh man," He groaned as he moved to his feet. "What hit me?"

Shaking his head, he looked around and noticed that he was in a dark cell and then he remembered; he was fighting with the others against cogs when one of them hit him. He also remembered that he had felt the cogs grab hold of him, which could only mean one thing. He was in the Machine Empire.

"Oh I'm in trouble," Tommy looked around before looking down at his wrist. His morpher was missing, but his communicator was still there. "Can't hurt to try." He raised his wrist to his lips. "Zordon, Billy, can you read me?" he paused, hoping he'd get a response, yet wasn't surprised when he didn't.

"Now what am I going to do?" Tommy muttered to himself.

A noise outside his cell drew his attention and he saw Gasket's General standing there.

"Prince Gasket demands your presence," the General spoke and used his staff to open the door.

"No," Tommy shook his head and fell into a fighting stance.

"Foolish red ranger," The General laughed before he summoned cogs and sent them in the cell.

Tommy tried fighting them, but soon realized he was still a bit drained from them knocking him out and was quickly overpowered.

"Let me go!" he shouted as he struggled to free himself.

The General laughed and led the way to where Gasket was. "The red ranger, my prince."

"Excellent," Gasket turned around and walked over to Tommy, who was still struggling.

"What do you want with me?" Tommy demanded.

"It's very simple red ranger," Gasket said, "you will become my evil soldier and you will destroy the rangers once and for all."

'_Shit! Not again.' _"Never!" Tommy shouted. "I'll never be evil again!"

"You have no choice," Gasket laughed. "Bring him here." He walked over to a table that had a machine hooked to it.

Tommy struggled even more as the cogs moved him to the table. They managed to get him on and the General strapped him down.

"No!" Tommy grunted. "Let me go!"

"Do it!" Gasket ordered.

His General rushed to do as he was told and soon enough, the room was filled with Tommy's screams. Gasket watched on as his machine worked on Tommy; he could feel the glee and anticipation build at the thought of finally having a victory over Zordon and the rangers.

Minutes later, Tommy's screams died down and Gasket made a motion for the machine to be turned off and for Tommy to be unstrapped and he waited.

Opening his eyes, Tommy turned to Gasket, got off the table and knelt down. "How may I serve my Emperor?" his eyes glowed green.

Gasket laughed. "Excellent!" he made a motion for Tommy to follow him and left the room. They came to the throne room and Gasket grabbed his staff and waved it at the wall, pictures of the rangers showing up.

"These are our enemies," Gasket said, "your enemies as well; they have tried to kill you before."

Tommy's dark gaze focused on the rangers and his eyes glowed green in rage. "What is it my emperor wishes me to do?"

"Destroy them," Gasket commanded as he held Tommy's morpher out to him. What the red ranger didn't know was, the morpher was infused with evil, so when he morphed, it would send a surge of evil through him, making their hold on him even stronger. The rangers wouldn't know what hit them.

Tommy stared at the image of the rangers; inside, he could feel rage and anger towards them and the urge to hurt them, but even then, he could feel something inside protest against hurting them.

Gasket could see the tiny struggle in the red ranger's eyes, so he gave him the morpher. "To access the power, just say 'Red Power Up'."

Tommy took the morpher and did as he was told. The moment he morphed, the evil soared through him and he threw his head back and groaned at the influx of evil. His ranger suit was a darker shade of red—almost blood red—than normal.

"Go now and destroy the rangers," Gasket commanded.

"Your will shall be done," Tommy chuckled darkly before he disappeared in the same beam of the light the cogs used.

"You are a true evil genius my liege," the General praised.

Gasket laughed and looked out to the Earth. Soon the rangers would be destroyed and it would be at the hands of one of their own.

~...~

The rangers were still at the Command Chamber wondering what they were going to do next when the alarms went off.

"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi," Alpha cried as he went over to the console.

"What's going on?" Kat asked.

"Rangers," Alpha turned to them. "It's Tommy; he's attacking the city."

"Oh man," Jason swallowed, he remembered the days of the evil green ranger and knew he how powerful Tommy was then. _'And that was before he truly touched the powers; now, he's going to be even more powerful.'_

The rangers looked at each other before they took up their positions. They morphed and teleported out of the Command Chamber, hoping that they could get through to their friend and break the hold the Machine Empire had on him before he did some serious damage.

"Zordon," Billy looked up at his mentor. "Do you think they'll be able to break him out of it? Last time, it was by Jason destroying the sword."

"The hold Gasket currently has on Tommy is stronger than the one Rita had on him," Zordon said. "The rangers will face difficulty in breaking Tommy free from the spell."

"And if they can't?" Billy turned to look at the viewing globe.

"Then I fear for the world," Zordon replied after a few seconds of silence.

~...~

When the rangers teleported into town, it was to the sight of Tommy standing in his ranger suit, his gun in his hand. They saw that his suit was a darker shade of red.

"Oh no," Kat whispered.

"Tommy!" Jason shouted. "Fight it! This isn't you."

"Shut up gold ranger," Tommy growled, "I am your enemy and you will pay for your crime."

The rangers exchanged confused looks and looked back to their friend.

"What are you talking about?" Rocky asked.

"What crime did we do?" Adam yelled out.

"Enough!" Tommy commanded. "You will not distract me with your questions. You know what crime you have done and now YOU SHALL PAY!"

He attacked, immediately putting the rangers on the defence. He was ruthless and relentless in fighting them and the rangers found their hands full with trying to keep him at bay.

After a powerful blast from Tommy knocked them to the ground, the rangers regrouped a few feet away.

"What...are we...going...to do?" Kat said between breaths. "How...how can we break...the spell...on him?"

"I don't know," Jason shook his head with a groan. "But we have to think of some way and fast."

"But what?" Rocky moaned out.

Before anyone could respond, Tommy was attacking them again. He punched Jason in his stomach before kicking the gold ranger away; Jason landed on his side with a pained groan, demorphing from the blow.

After attacking Jason, Tommy wasted no time in going after the others. They too soon found themselves once again overwhelmed and unable to land a single blow on their friend turned evil. A blast from Tommy's gun had them all landing on the ground next to Jason, demorphing as well.

~...~

Back in the Command Chamber, Billy winced as he watched his friends fight against Tommy and lose. He knew what fighting against the red ranger was like as he had fought against him when he was the green ranger, and knew that it would take a miracle to break the spell Gasket had over Tommy.

He looked up to his mentor. "Zordon, what are we going to do?"

"I'm afraid Billy," Zordon said, "that there is only one thing we can do." He turned to Alpha. "Alpha, lock on to the coordinates of Kimberly's communicator."

Billy's eyes lit up with hope. He knew that if there was anyone who could reach Tommy it would be Kim.

"Zordon," Alpha said, "the coordinates reveal that Kimberly is at Tommy's house."

"What?" Billy looked at the robot in shock and delight. _'What's Kim doing in Angel Grove?'_

"Teleport her here," Zordon commanded.

"Teleporting," Alpha said.

~...~

Kim walked through the Oliver house, smiling at the thought of how surprised the family would be when they came home. She knew she could go to Ernie's or the park and meet up with the others, but she didn't want to; she wanted Tommy to see her first and she wanted to spend some time with him and his parents before their friends took up her time. She had just walked into the kitchen when she felt the familiar sensation of the teleportation beam and braced herself.

"Kimberly!" Billy's voice drew her attention and she looked up to see her childhood friend.

"Billy!" Kim laughed and walked over to him, throwing her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. "It's so good to see you."

"Same here," Billy smiled as he returned her hug. He hadn't realized just how much he had missed her until she was in his arms.

"Zordon," Kim pulled back from Billy to smile up at her former mentor.

"Hello my young crane," Zordon smiled. "It is good to see you."

"Not that I'm not happy to be here," Kim smiled, "but _why_ am I here?"

"We need your help Kimberly," Alpha waved his robotic arms as he walked over to where Kim and Billy were standing.

"With what?" Kim turned to look at the robot before looking back at her mentor.

"Tommy," Billy answered as he gestured to the viewing globe.

Kim watched as the rangers fought against her boyfriend and couldn't stop the gasp from escaping. "How did he become evil?"

"I'm afraid the Machine Empire managed to capture him during a battle," Zordon answered.

"WHAT?" Kim turned wide eyes from the globe to her mentor. "Do we know how? I mean, is there something specific we have to do to break the spell?"

"I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that," Zordon told her. "As far as I can see, there is nothing specific to destroy."

"So, we'll have to break Tommy out of the spell another way," Kim finished with a sigh as she turned back to the viewing globe. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Actually," Billy glanced at Zordon before looking back at Kim. "We do. Zordon thinks—and I agree—that there may only be one way to help Tommy." He paused, "You."

"Me?" Kim was a bit shocked. "How can I help?"

"Tommy loves you Kim," Billy reached out to grab her hands in his, "more than anything and anyone. The two of you have a connection—a deep one—that I've never seen between anyone else. If anyone can help Tommy, it'll be you."

Kim became quiet; she bit her lip as she looked from the globe, to Billy, to Zordon and back. "You really think so?"

"Don't you?" Billy countered.

"What do I need to do?" Kim's voice held strong determination, reminding the three of Tommy and how he acted, especially when it came to her.

"Go to him," Zordon said.

"Alpha," Kim turned to the robot.

"Prepare for teleportation Kimberly," the robot told the former pink ranger.

Kim nodded and smiled in nostalgia when she once again felt the teleportation beam wash over her and she disappeared from the Command Chamber.

"I really hope she's able to get through to him," Billy sighed as he stared at the spot Kim had stood.

"So do I Billy," Zordon nodded.

~...~

Tommy laughed as he looked at the rangers on the ground and the dark sound of it had the rangers shivering as they lay on the ground; there was so much evil in that sound and it terrified them more than anything and that's when they knew, it would be hell to get Tommy back.

"Oh God," Kat felt her eyes fill with tears as she looked at her teammate. To see him like this was hurt her. She knew that she was once under the evil spell, but even then she knew that her time under Rita's control was nothing like this. Shaking her head, she looked at the others.

"What are we going to do?" Rocky grunted out as he struggled to his knees.

"What we always do," Adam coughed. "We fight and hope that something triggers Tommy's memories."

Forcing themselves to their feet despite their pain, the rangers prepared themselves to fight against their friend once more.

They managed to land some blows on Tommy, but his counterattacks were much worse as they were already hurt from earlier and so, the rangers' reflexes were becoming slower, leaving them unable to properly defend themselves.

When Tommy fired another beam at them, they were too hurt and tired to move themselves out of the way and were caught in the blast, sending them backwards to land on the ground.

~...~

When the beam cleared, Kim saw the rangers fighting Tommy; she noticed immediately that they were moving slower and knew that her friends were beyond hurt. She watched in growing horror as Tommy ruthlessly attacked them and watched as he fired at them; the rangers were too disoriented to move and they were caught in the blast.

Horrified, Kim watched as they landed with a thud. Swallowing briefly, she quickly made her way towards them.

"Jase," She knelt next to the one who was her brother in all but blood.

"Kim," Jason groaned and turned confused eyes to the voice. His eyes widened in shock when he noticed his childhood friend and little sister.

"Come on," Kim said as she helped him to his feet. The others, now noticing her, carefully eased their pained bodies to their feet as well.

"What are you...what are you doing here?" Rocky said between grunts of pain.

"Help," Kim said before she turned to where Tommy was standing.

"Kim, no," Kat coughed and tried to stop her friend.

"He won't hurt me," Kim assured the blonde.

Tanya and Adam looked at her but didn't say anything, knowing it would be futile.

"What's the matter rangers?" Tommy taunted as he walked over to them. "Finally given up?" he couldn't see Kim because the others had surrounded her when she had joined them, but he was still getting a very weird feeling.

The rangers looked at each other before stepping away, allowing Tommy to see Kim.

"Hi Handsome," Kim took a step towards her boyfriend.

Tommy froze. He knew that voice; feelings deep within him stirred, fighting against the evil that had a hold of his mind and confusion echoed throughout him. A voice was telling him she was his, but yet, she was with the rangers.

"Don't you remember me?" Kim said as she took another step forward; she heard Jason and the others telling her to be careful but she paid them no attention. She knew Tommy better than anyone and she knew that despite the fact that he was evil, he wouldn't hurt her. "Didn't think I was that easy to forget."

"Never," Tommy shook himself off and took a step towards her. The rangers looked on in shock.

"Why are you attacking your friends?" Kim asked, moving even closer.

"They are not my friends!" Tommy stopped and vehemently denied.

"Then why are you wearing the same uniform that they do?" Kim asked and she watched as Tommy looked down at his clothes.

"What?" Tommy took a jerky step backwards. "This can't be."

"It is," Kim walked towards him. "You're one of them Tommy...one of us. Please, fight the hold that Gasket has over you. You're not evil."

"No," Tommy's hand flew to his head as he dropped his gun. "You're trying to trick me."

"No I'm not," Kim said as tears filled her eyes; her heart was breaking to see Tommy trapped under the spell like he was. "You know me Tommy. I would never trick you."

"You're lying!" Tommy roared and the rangers jumped but Kim didn't even flinch. "Gasket told me the truth. They deserve to be punished."

"What truth did he tell you?" Kim asked.

"They tried to kill me," Tommy told her. "And you're one of them. You're lying to me too." He bent down to grab his gun and pointed it at her, but even as he did so, he found he couldn't shoot her.

~...~

Up in his palace, Gasket watched what was happening in shock. He could see the strands of evil in the red ranger weakening and knew he was soon to losing him. His gaze focused on the girl in pink and knew that she was the reason. Enraged, he summoned his General.

"Yes my Prince?" the General kneeled.

"That girl," Gasket growled out. "Destroy her. She is turning the red ranger back to the side of good and that cannot happen."

"Yes my Prince," the General nodded before he disappeared from the palace.

~...~

The rangers looked at Kim and Tommy; they could see that Kim was getting through to their leader and silently encouraged her.

They looked at each other before starting towards the two, before they could reach however, Gasket's General showed up directly behind Kim.

"Kim!" Jason shouted. "Behind you!"

Kim turned and saw Gasket's General behind; before she could move, he grabbed her.

"Let me go!" Kim struggled in his arms.

"I can't allow you to turn him back," the General chuckled. "You must be destroyed."

"No!" Kim's struggles increase and the others hurried to help her but they were blasted back from a blast by the General.

Kim turned to the frozen red ranger. "TOMMY! HELP!"

Tommy, who had frozen when Gasket's General had shown and grabbed Kim, jolted out of it when Kim's scream sounded; it resonated in his entire being and he found himself being filled swiftly with pure, white-hot rage. He may not remember the rangers, but he remembered her and the fact that someone was hurting her, it enraged him.

Beneath his helmet, his eyes glowed a dark green. His powers responded and a menacing green glow surrounded his body.

Everyone stopped what they were doing when they felt the pure power Tommy was unleashing.

"What the hell?" Adam looked at his friend in shock.

"What's going on?" Tanya asked as she held on to Kat.

"Tommy may not remember us," Jason said, "but he definitely remembers Kim."

"What's happening to him?" Rocky asked.

"I don't know," Jason shook his head.

Before anyone else could say anything, Tommy moved. He appeared in front of Kim and punched the General in his face, making him stumble, pulling Kim away at the same time and pushing her behind him.

"Touch her again and die," Tommy growled.

"Fool," the General hissed. He couldn't believe the power that was coming from Tommy or that the girl had been able to break the spell over him.

"Fool I may be," Tommy snarled, "I will not hesitate to destroy you if you go after her again."

The rangers looked at each other and started walking to their friends, believing that the spell was broken. That notion was destroyed when Tommy pointed his gun at them.

"Don't think I forgot about you," He smirked beneath his helmet.

"What?" the rangers stared in shock.

"Tommy," Kim clutched the back of her boyfriend's suit. She knew, unlike the others, that Tommy wasn't out of the spell's hold as yet. She had to get him back. Getting an idea, she let him go and took a step back, allowing him to turn to her.

"What is it?" Tommy near growled; he had to protect her...from everyone. He almost lost her before and he was damned if he was going to let someone else try to take her again.

"What did they do to you?" Kim asked. "Why do you think they're your enemies?"

"I was told the truth," Tommy answered, "they tried to kill me and for that, they must pay."

"And who told you that?" Kim scoffed and pointed to the General. "_Him?_ Or was it Gasket? They lied to you Tommy. The rangers are your friends."

"No," Tommy shook his head as he felt the war going on inside. He trusted her and wanted to believe Kim's words, but it was clashing with everything else he was told, everything else he thought he knew.

"You can trust me Tommy," Kim reached up and unclipped his helmet, slowly pulling it off until she was looking into the glowing green eyes of her boyfriend. The helmet fell from her fingers as her hand reached up to cup his cheek. "Listen to me; I wouldn't lie to you or hurt you. Trust me; Gasket lied to you...they never tried to kill you. _He's_ the bad guy; _he's_ the one that wants you to be destroyed. You're a power ranger and he wants you gone."

"Lies!" the General hissed and pointed his gun at the couple. "She lies to you; she's one of them and will say anything to make you not hurt them."

Kim glared at the General before looking back at Tommy. "He's right. I am one of them, or I used to be. Can you imagine hurting me? Because if you hurt them, you'll have to hurt me too."

"No," Tommy shook his head and his hands flew up to grab his head while his eyes fell close. Inside, he could feel the evil trying to take over again and he could feel himself fighting it. The evil wanted him to hurt her, to destroy her...but he couldn't...she was his everything.

"If you won't fight for yourself," Kim whispered as she captured his lips in a short kiss before she continued, "then fight for me."

Her words seemed to sink as Tommy started glowing green then red then green before the shifting of the colours speeded up, telling them one thing; he was fighting.

"She's doing it," Kat whispered, her voice filled with awe and joy, "she's breaking the spell."

"Come on bro," Jason muttered, not even trying to push back the hope rising in him. He knew of the bond between Kim and Tommy. He was, after all, there when it first began taking shape. "You can do this...just listen to Kim."

The General could not believe what he was seeing. The girl, that slip of a girl, was actually managing to break the spell over the ranger's leader. _'But how...how is she doing this? What power does she have that allows her to interfere with my master's hold on the boy? She has to be destroyed.'_

The General raised his gun towards Kim and Tommy and before anyone could even react, he had fired.

"NO!" Jason and the others shouted as they started towards their two friends, each knowing they'd never be able to get there in time or to stop the blast.

Since Tommy's back was towards the others, he didn't see what was happening, but Kim did. She saw the blast coming towards them and she heard her friends' shouts of warning, but ignored them and shoved Tommy out of the way, taking the blast head on. The force of it lifted her off her feet and sent her flying backwards and she landed on the ground with a thud a few feet away, her body lying still.

The General chuckled and believed that he had finally eliminated all threats to his master's plan and that now, the evil would regain a hold on the red ranger...he was wrong.

Tommy, had stumbled and fell from the push, rolled to his feet and looked to where the General was standing. He was angry at the man for attacking him, but before he could do anything, he saw the rangers heading his way. He looked at them before looking to see where they were staring at and the scene made him stop in shock.

Kim was lying on the ground and she wasn't moving. His heart cracked at the image and a rage unlike anything he ever felt before filled him. Rather than fuelling the evil inside of him, it worked instead to end the fight, giving Tommy control over his body once more as his suit changed from green to red.

Knowing his friends were with Kim, he turned back to the General. "You will pay for that. ZEO RANGER V: RED!"

~...~

The rangers, who had just reached Kim's side, turned to where Tommy stood when they heard the shout. They saw their friend and leader once again in his ZEO suit, but this time, it was different. The colour was no longer blood red, but the normal shade that it was supposed to be.

"He broke the spell," Tanya shook her head in amazement.

"He broke it because of her," Rocky said as he knelt next to Kim. "Kim...can you hear me? Come on sis...wake up." He touched her head, smoothing back her hair, eyes in shock when he moved his hand away to see it coated in blood. "Guys..."

"Oh no," Kat's hands flew to her mouth.

"Kimberly," Adam swallowed.

"Get her to the Command Centre," Jason commanded, "I'll stay here with Tommy."

"Jason," Tanya looked to her fellow teammate.

"Go," Jason stopped whatever she was going to say. "She needs help...go."

They nodded and each held on to Kim and teleported out, leaving Jason, who stood up and turned back to see what was going on. He saw Tommy attacking the General. He knew his friend was filled with a ferocious rage right now, and wasn't thinking about anything except destroying the General.

"He's going to kill him, isn't he?" Rocky asked as he appeared next to Jason, who turned to him. "The others are with Kim, so I came back."

"Ok," Jason nodded, "and yeah he is...and I won't stop him."

"Good," Rocky nodded and the two stayed where they were, ready and waiting in case Tommy needed help, but they knew he wouldn't.

~...~

All Tommy could feel was the rage at Kim being hurt. The spell was broken and he was thinking clearly. He knew that Gasket lied to him and he thanked God that he had done any real damage to his friends. Dodging a blow from the General, he countered with one of his own, satisfaction rolling through him when the being stumbled from it.

He fought and fought, landing blow after blow, hurting the being that had hurt the most important person in his life. As he fought, all the anger he had felt over the last few months came out; the anger over the letter, over hearing of how Danny had played on Kim's fears and insecurities, of Kim getting kidnapped, being beaten, ending up in the hospital, Kim getting hurt just now...everything came out as he fought the General.

The General couldn't believe what was happening; he had never thought the boy had it in him. He was a formidable warrior, one of the best, in the Machine Empire and he couldn't land a blow on his opponent. He had thought that by destroying the girl, it would have stopped her influence on him and allow Gasket's evil to regain control, but instead, it had not only destroyed Gasket's hold, but it had empowered the red ranger and now, he was fighting against an opponent more deadly than any other he's ever faced. He knew his end was coming soon, he could feel and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it.

After delivering a blow that sent the General to his knees, Tommy glared down at the man and gathered all his anger and rage which turned into a ball of power coming from his chest. When it was big enough, he brought his hands up and around it before throwing it at the General, destroying him.

Up in the Machine Empire, Gasket howled with rage and disbelief.

With his rage finally expelled, Tommy de-morphed and fell to the ground, falling forward to brace his hands on the ground.

"Tommy," Rocky and Jason ran over to him.

"You ok, bro?" Jason knelt next to his friend.

"Kimberly," Tommy panted out as he shifted his head to look at his friend.

"Come on," Rocky knelt on his other side and gently placed a hand on Tommy's arm. "She's at the Command Chamber...let's go."

Jason grabbed Tommy's other arm and pressed the teleportation button on his communicator and the three disappeared.

~...~

When the three boys reappeared in the Command Chamber, their three other teammates rushed to them.

"Tommy!" Kat reached him first. "Are you ok?"

Tommy shook his head and pulled slightly away from his friends, moving to his feet and looking around the room. "Where's—where's Kimberly?"

"Medical Bay," Adam answered as he looked over his friend. He was beyond happy to see that Tommy was out of the spell, he was just sad that it had taken something like this for that to happen. "She hit her head pretty hard when she landed and there was some bleeding. Billy and Alpha are with her."

Tommy said nothing but he turned from them and headed to the Med Bay, the others following after him after looking at their mentor.

When Tommy entered the Med Bay, he stopped the moment he saw Kim lying on the bed, a monitor connected to her. It threw him back to Florida when she was in the hospital. Shaking himself off, he hurried to her bedside and pulled up the chair to sit beside her.

"Tommy," Billy said when he saw his friend. Knowing that the red ranger was back with them, he smiled briefly. "She's ok. Despite the bleeding, it was anything that required stitches. She's going to have a headache when she wakes up and a slight concussion."

Tommy nodded, barely hearing Billy, or the others entering the room, and turned to his girlfriend. "Hey Kim," he whispered as he grabbed her hand in his. "I'm here now...you're ok...it's time to wake up Beautiful."

Kim groaned and her head turned to where Tommy was; her lids fluttered and seconds later, they opened slowly, doe-brown peeking out to lock on to chocolate-brown.

"There you are," Tommy smiled. "Welcome back."

"Tommy," Kim whispered, "you're back."

"In the flesh," Tommy grinned, as did Billy and Jason. "Everything's gonna be fine." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you."

"I-I love you too," Kim whispered before a small smile came on her face as she stifled a yawn.

"Sleep," Tommy gently commanded, "I'll be here when you wake up."

"Hmmk," Kim mumbled, already drifting back off, secure in the knowledge that her boyfriend was by her side.

~...~

It's been a few days since the attack from the Machine Empire and the rangers, along with Billy and Kim, were at the lake, enjoying the day. Kat and Tanya were in the water, playing a little volleyball while Rocky, Adam, Billy and Jason were throwing a Frisbee around and Kim and Tommy sat underneath a tree, looking at their friends.

"I still can't believe you're here," Tommy said as he pulled Kim to sit in front of him, wrapping his arms around her.

"Believe it," Kim giggled as she leaned into his embrace. She felt so safe and loved and at peace in his arms...she always did and she suspected she always would.

"How are you feeling?" Tommy asked, referring to what happened a few days ago.

"I'm fine," Kim shifted slightly so that she could see his face. "Really, I am. I'm done with my Gymnastics, I'm home with you and our friends and we managed to seriously hurt Gasket and the Machine Empire when you destroyed the General. The only thing that's left is the small scar on my neck and considering how much worse it could be, I'm ok with that."

"I just..." Tommy trailed off and looked away briefly before looking back at her. "I really can't lose you Kim, and I've almost did too many times."

"Yes," Kim nodded, "you have, and I've almost lost you as well, but we've overcome each of those times and we're stronger because of it."

"I love you so much, you know that?" Tommy grinned at her.

"You better," Kim gave a smile full of mischief and love. "I didn't go through a lot of crap for you not to. And I love you too."

"You guys done being all lovey-dovey?" Rocky asked with a teasing grin as he and the other boys dropped to sit in front of them.

"Shut up Rocky," Kim laughed as she kicked at him.

"Now Kim," Rocky grinned as he grabbed her foot, "you know you love me."

"Yeah, yeah," Kim giggled.

"Leave them alone," Kat chastised as she and Tanya walked up to the group and sat down next to Tommy. The blonde turned to her friend. "How _are _you feeling?"

"You guys," Kim rolled her eyes with a smile, "I'm fine, honest."

"Alright," Jason nodded, "just making sure."

"Hmmm," Kim sighed and snuggled back into Tommy's arms.

"So Kim," Tanya looked over at the petite brunette, "Have you registered back at AGHS?"

"Yep," Kim nodded, "I did that before I came home. I sent over all my transcripts when I was still in Florida."

"So," Adam grinned at his "sister". "We're gonna have you with us our senior year?"

"Oh yeah," Kim grinned and then laughed when the others cheered. A comfortable silence soon settled over the friends and they spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the fact that for once—even if it was just for today—everything was working out just fine.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2: **the end of chapter four. Hope you guys liked it. As for Gasket's general, I really didn't remember his name and honestly, I was just too lazy to look it up or make up a name, so I left at the General. Next chapter is the final chapter. Now that you've reached this point, all that's left is to review so that I can know what you thought.

**Reviewers:  
><strong>**Nightwing 509; hopelessromanticgurl; sabina21; brankel1; andyg2525; RFK22; red lighting; general-joseph-dickson; Falcon4Crane; Jeremy Shane; Pinkrangerfan; mae-E; VampDGurl; hansongirl14; oldtvlover; Belle Paris; coolgal13; Young at Heart21; O'MiaLove**


	5. The Falcon and The Crane

**Title: **Reclaiming His Crane**  
>Author: <strong>Mykkila09**  
>Chapter: <strong>5 of 5  
><strong>Chapter Title: <strong>The Falcon and the Crane  
><strong>Settings: <strong>during ZEO and then TURBO; starts out with that atrocious episode, _"There's No Business like Snow Business" _and that God-awful letter and ends with T: APRM.**  
>Story Summary: <strong>Tommy gets the letter and after thinking things over, he decides not to let things end that way and to follow his heart. This is more like a series of connected one-shots.  
><strong>Chapter Summary: <strong>A new villain shows up and Kim, with Jason, is caught in the crossfire. After Kim is attacked, the villain finds out just it was a bad thing to face a pissed off Tommy

**Chapter Word Count: **12, 696

**A/N: **So sorry for the long wait you guys. Truth is, the reason why the chapter took so long is because I honestly had no idea what to write as I had never expected to write more than three chapters and I never expected for the story to be so popular. When I finally did figure out what to write, I had no idea _how _to write it, to bring it all together. But, now I have, so...here it is. Again, so very sorry for the long wait and I hope you guys like it. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban; no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. If you didn't get that...I do **NOT** own and I am **NOT**making any money off of this.

'_Thinking'  
><em>"Speaking"

* * *

><p>It's been a few months since Kim came home and the spell was broken over Tommy. It was now November, with Thanksgiving only a week away.<p>

Kim sighed as she sat in homeroom, Tommy's arms around her shoulder, as he talked to Rocky. Her gaze landed on Jason and she couldn't help but to remember the heart-rending moment the rangers had experienced a few weeks ago.

_Flashback_

_Halloween was only a few days away and the rangers, Kim included, couldn't be happier. Halloween was one of their favourites as they loved dressing up, all the candies and best of all, helping out the neighbourhood kids—they would offer to take some of the kids Trick-or-Treating while the parents stayed home. _

_The teens were at their usual hangout—Ernie's—eating lunch. They would be going to the park later on today._

_Kim was sitting with Kat, Tanya and Billy, while Jason and Tommy were sparring and Rocky and Adam were on the weights._

"_Are we gonna go shopping later this afternoon?" Tanya asked as she popped a fry into her mouth._

"_Oh we should," Kat grinned, "There's a sale today at Maurice's."_

"_Really?" Kim looked up at the blonde. "Oh we definitely have to go then."_

"_I thought you'd say that," Kat laughed. _

"_Oh man," Billy groaned as he looked at the three girls. "Can I stay here?"_

"_No!" all three girls said at once. _

"_What's going on?" Tommy asked as he and the other boys joined them. He dropped a kiss on Kim's head before sitting down next to her._

"_Shopping," Kim smiled over at him. _

"_Why am I not surprised?" Tommy chuckled. "And lemme guess, us boys are all going, right?"_

"_Yep," the three girls nodded with a laugh._

"_Alright," Tommy shrugged with an easy smile._

"_Just like that?" Adam looked at his leader and friend, "We're gonna give in just like that, no fights or nothing?"_

"_Do you really want to fight with them?" Jason smirked as he clapped Adam on his shoulders and gestured to the girls._

_Adam looked over at the girls before shaking his head. "No."_

"_That's what I thought," Jason laughed. _

"_Let's go to the park," Kim stood up, pulling Tommy with her. "It's so nice and I feel like being outside."_

"_Why don't we just make a day of it and hang out at the lake?" Tanya suggested._

"_Sounds good," Kat grinned as she looked around at her friends. "Why don't we all hurry home and meet at the lake at our usual spot?"_

"_Let's do it," Rocky clapped his hands together._

_Smiling, the friends grabbed their stuff, waved to Ernie and left the youth centre._

_~...~_

_Half an hour later, the gang was at the lake; Kat and Kim were sitting under a tree, Tanya was in the water with Adam while Billy, Rocky, Jason and Tommy played football on the shore._

_The friends were relaxed and enjoying their peaceful afternoon, but good things must come to an end. _

_Kat and Kim had just gotten up, and was about to change into their swimwear to join Tanya and Adam in the water when the sky darkened ominously._

"_What the hell?" Kim muttered as she looked up._

"_I don't like this," Kat took a step closer to her petite friend._

_The boys turned to look at them and was about to head to them when cogs appeared._

"_WHOA!" Rocky said as he jumped back, dropping into a stance. _

"_There goes our good day," Jason growled as his body tensed in preparation of a fight._

_Tanya and Adam quickly made their way out of the water and joined their friends just as the cogs attacked. _

_The rangers fought them off, managing to damage them enough so they could morph._

"_IT'S MORPHIN TIME!" Tommy shouted out._

"_ZEO RANGER ONE: PINK!"_

"_ZEO RANGER TWO: YELLOW!"_

"_ZEO RANGER THREE: BLUE!"_

"_ZEO RANGER FOUR: GREEN!"_

"_ZEO RANGER FIVE: RED!"_

"_GOLD RANGER POWER!"_

_Now morphed, the rangers attacked the cogs with more energy and power._

_Kim took refuge behind a tree. She knew that despite her being a former ranger, she was in no shape to truly fight the cogs. That decision was taking out of her hands when she was attacked._

"_Whoa!" she jumped back just in time to dodge the blow from a cog. Just because she wasn't a ranger anymore didn't mean she forgot how to fight. _

_Tommy looked over and saw his girlfriend fighting two cogs. Destroying the one he was fighting, he quickly made his way to her. Kicking the cog from behind her, he grabbed her hand and ulled her behind him as he destroyed the other one._

"_Thanks Handsome," Kim grinned up at him. _

"_Ahhhh!"_

_The shout drew their attention and they looked over and saw Jason on his knees with his hands on his helmet, cradling his head. _

"_Jason!" Kim gasped as she and Tommy made their way to him. Kim knelt next to Jason, her hand resting on his shoulder. "What's wrong Jase?"_

"_I...I d-don't know," Jason said between groans. "My head...feels like...something's...something's tearing."_

"_What's happening going?" Rocky asked as he joined the two._

"_We don't know," Kim answered._

"_Kim," Tommy looked down at his girlfriend, the leader tone in his voice. "You and Billy take Jason and teleport back to the Command Chamber and let Zordon know what's going on."_

"_Ok," Kim nodded. "Come on Billy."_

_Billy knelt next to Jason and wrapped an arm around Jason's shoulder. Kim wrapped her own arm around Jason, tightening it as she pressed the side of her communicator, teleporting the three of them to the Command Chamber._

"_Alright," Tommy looked to the rest of his team. "Let's finish these guys off and get to the Command Chamber."_

_~...~_

_Kim and Billy landed in the Command Chamber._

"_Zordon there's something wrong with Jason," Kim said as she straightened up and looked at her mentor._

"_Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi," Alpha sounded out as he moved to the trio._

"_Gold ranger," Zordon looked down at the three humans. "What is the matter?"_

"_I don't know Zordon," Jason groaned out. Suddenly, he pulled away from Billy and clutched his head, his suit started disappearing and reappearing and he started glowing gold._

"_What's happening to me?" Jason asked before he let out a scream and then collapsed to the floor unconscious, demorphing as he did so._

"_Jason!" Billy and Kim said as one._

"_Alpha," Billy turned to look at the robot. "I need you to teleport Jason to the Med Bay."_

"_Yes Billy," Alpha said as he walked over to the console and pressed a few buttons. "Teleporting now."_

_Gold light covered Jason as he disappeared._

"_Zordon," Kim looked back the tube. "What is going on? What's wrong with Jason?"_

"_I fear young crane," Zordon started, his voice grave, "Jason's life is in terrible danger."_

"_What?" Billy and Kim exchanged shocked glances. _

"_What do you mean in terrible danger?" Kim asked, "it's not like he's dying, is he?"_

_Zordon remained quiet and looked at the two._

_Kim saw the look on his face. "Zordon, is that what it is? Is Jason dying?"_

"_Yes," Zordon told her. _

"_Oh my God," Billy breathed out, his eyes wide in shock and horror._

"_But...but how?" Kim asked. "How can he be dying? What's he dying from?"_

"_Jason came to me a short time ago," Zordon began, "he told of pains he started experiencing after using the powers; headache, nausea, nightmares, fatigue. At first, he had thought it was just a common cold, but as things progressively became worse, he came to me and told me the symptoms. I had my suspicions, but I declined from saying anything without further proof. A few days ago, Jason came back and said that he felt even worse after morphing, almost as if the morph itself was draining his powers."_

"_So what was wrong?" Billy asked._

"_He was right," Zordon said, "every time Jason morphed, it was draining his life force. His symptoms—the nausea, headaches, fatigue, nightmares—were a manifestation of it."_

"_What are you saying?" Kim asked, her heart pounding._

"_The Gold Ranger Power, while they accepted Jason as their new leader when King Trey passed them on," Zordon explained, "they have decided to turn on Jason."_

"_Zordon," Billy started, not wanting to complete the sentence he knew his mentor was saying._

"_Yes Billy," Zordon said gravely, "Jason is dying."_

"_No!" Kim's hands flew to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. "Zordon, there must be something we can do. We can't just let Jason die!"_

"_The only way to save Jason is to remove the powers from him," Zordon told the two, "and the only way to do that King Trey. He has to reclaim the powers as his own."_

"_So we'll contact him," Billy said. "We'll get him to come and take the powers back."_

"_I was already in the process of having Alpha contact Trey when the three of you teleported in," Zordon said, "however, it might take some time for communications to be established. Time I fear we do not have. Jason cannot wait too long, for even as we speak, the powers are draining his life force."_

"_No," Kim's tears spilled over and she ran from the room and hurried to the med bay._

_Billy watched her go with a heavy heart, wanting to go with her, but knowing he had to stay here and help Alpha contact Trey. Squaring his shoulders, Billy turned to the robot._

"_Alpha," He started, "show me what you were doing. Maybe there's a way I can help to enhance the signal to make it stronger to reach Trey."_

"_Right Billy," Alpha said as he walked over to the console. The two had only started working for a few minutes when the others teleported into the Chamber._

"_Is Jason ok?" Tanya asked as she powered down, the others following suit._

"_No," Billy answered, his voice tight as if to stave off the grief that was filling him. "He's not."_

"_What's wrong?" Tommy took a step forward and asked. "And where's Kimberly?"_

"_She's with Jason in the Med Bay," Billy said, and then he paused, sighed and turned to face the others. "Guys...there's something you should know."_

"_What is it?" Adam asked, wondering what had his friend looking like death had warmed over. _

"_It's Jason," Billy told them, "it turns out things are more serious than we thought."_

"_Was he hurt in the battle or something?" Rocky's brows furrowed as he tried to remember if Jason had been severely hurt._

"_No," Billy shook his head and then he explained what Zordon had just told him and Kim. When he was done, the others were looking at him in shock and disbelief._

"_Zordon," Kat turned to look at their mentor, her blue eyes wide with tears, "are you sure? Jason is dying."_

"_Yes Katherine," Zordon said, "if we do not get Trey here in time to reclaim the Gold Ranger powers, then Jason's life shall be forfeit."_

_The friends looked at each in disbelief. For the boys, it was like déjà vu all over again as the last they had gone through something like this was when Kim's power coin had been stolen and she had been taken by Zedd. _

"_Billy," Tommy spoke up, the leader tone in his voice, "continue trying to establish contact with Trey. Between you and Alpha, I have faith that you guys will succeed, though I don't need to say that time is of the essence."_

"_Got it," Billy nodded and he and Alpha turned back to the console._

"_I'm gonna go check on Kim and Jason," Tommy said and turned to walk out._

"_We're coming with you," Tanya said and the five walked out._

_~...~_

_When they entered the Med Bay, it was to see Kim sitting next to Jason's bedside, his hand clutched tightly in hers._

_She looked up when the doors opened and they could see the pain in her eyes. Tommy hurried over to his girlfriend's side, carefully lifting her from the chair and sitting down, placing Kim on his lap. He tightened his arms around her as much as he could and placed a kiss on her head._

"_How are you holding up?" He asked._

"_Not so good," Kim said, "it's hard to see him like this, you know? He's always been the strong one, ever since we were kids."_

"_I know," Tommy nodded. He couldn't imagine what she was feeling. Jason had been her big brother since they were young; he'd been her rock and her strength when she needed it until he Tommy had come into their lives, and for her to see him like this, it shook Kim to her core._

"_He's going to be fine Kim," Rocky said as he pulled up a chair next to Tommy, resting a hand on Kim's knee. "He's a fighter and he knows that you'll kick his ass if he gives up."_

_Kim gave a teary chuckle. "Yes he does. Did Billy make contact with Trey yet?"_

"_He's still trying," Kat said, "but don't worry, he'll do it. If anyone can, it's him."_

_The friends crowded around the bed, showing their support for their fallen friend. They hoped that he could feel them there and gain comfort from their presence. He could._

_~...~_

_What seemed like hours later, the team, who had fallen asleep next to Jason, were jerked awake by the bed shaking and the alarms going off._

"_What's happening?" Tanya asked as she watched Jason convulse on the bed. "Oh God...something's wrong."_

"_Get Billy!" Tommy ordered as he quickly and gently moved Kim from his lap and leaned over to grab his friend to settle him. "Jason! Jason! Hold on bro." he looked back to the doorway. "Where they hell's Billy?"_

"_Adam went for him," Rocky said as he held Kim tightly. She had moved into his arms when Tommy had let her go and now she had her head buried in his chest; he could feel his shirt becoming wet with her tears and he ran a hand up and down her back, hoping to soothe her._

"_Seems I got here just in time," a voice said and they looked up to see Trey, Billy and Adam rushing into the room._

"_Help him!" Rocky yelled as he jerked his head to Jason's body._

"_Step back," Trey told Tommy as he stepped to the bed. _

_Tommy did as he was told and retook Kim from Rocky's arms. His arms tightened around her as he watched Trey hold out his hands over Jason's convulsing body._

_A gold glow started at Trey's hands; it became brighter and seconds later, another started from Jason. The rangers could see the powers moving up and down their friend's body in waves of colour and hoped that everything would turn out okay._

_The waves of power slowly left Jason's body and moved to circle Trey's hands; as they did so, Jason slowly stopped convulsing, the machines started beeping slower until they settled into the normal rhythm. When the power transfer was over, Jason relaxed back into the bed while Trey glowed gold before the colour disappeared._

_Finished, Trey stepped back from Jason and turned to the others. "It's done. The powers are now back with me."_

"_And Jason?" Kim asked, her eyes on her brother's form._

"_He's going to be fine," Trey reassured her. "I would like to apologize. Never did I think this would happen when the powers chose him to wield them."_

"_So," Adam spoke up, "Jason is ok? And he's not a ranger anymore."_

"_Yes, he's ok," Trey agreed, "and no, I'm sorry to say he's no longer a ranger."_

"_Considering the alternative," Rocky breathed out, raising a shaky hand to run through his hair, "I'm all for that."_

"_Same here," Kat agreed as she wiped her eyes._

"_He's resting now," Trey continued, "but should awake in a few hours or so." He started out of the room. "I'm going to give my regards to Zordon and then take my leave."_

"_Thank you," Tommy's voice stopped him just as he reached the door. _

_Trey turned back. "You're welcome. And I truly am sorry for everything."_

_The others nodded and he turned and left. _

"_Jase," Kim whispered as she carefully climbed onto the bed. She cuddled into his side and the others smiled when they saw that even unconscious, Jason's arms moved to wrap around Kim._

_~...~_

_An hour later, Jason groaned to signal his wakening. His eyes opened slowly and he became aware of a pressure on his side. Tilting his head, he smiled when he recognized Kim._

"_Welcome back." He looked up and saw the others. It was Billy who spoke._

"_What happened?" Jason asked, being careful to keep his voice low as to not wake Kim._

"_What's the last thing you remember?" Tanya asked. She was able to finally relax upon seeing Jason awake. _

_Jason's brows furrowed as he tried to remember. "Fighting the cogs." He looked at the others. "What happened?"_

"_You almost died bro," Tommy spoke up. "We almost lost you."_

_Jason looked confused before his expression cleared. "Oh shit."_

"_Yeah," Rocky said, grinning in relief with a hint of laughter. "That about sums it up."_

"_How am I—" _

"_How are you still alive?" Kat cut him off. "Trey." At his look, she explained everything to him. When she was done, he laid his head back on the pillow, tightening his arms slightly around Kim._

"_How's she doing?" he asked as he ran a hand up and down her back._

"_Scared," Tommy answered, retaking his seat, an arm coming to rest on Kim. He looked over at Jason. "She's going to cry when she wakes up and see you and then, she's gonna give you hell for not saying anything earlier about what was happening."_

_Jason groaned and let his head fall back._

Kim jerked out her thoughts by a nudge from Tommy.

"You ok?" He asked as he looked down at her.

"Yeah," She smiled up at him. "I'm ok."

"Ok," Tommy smiled before pressing a kiss to her forehead. Minutes later, the bell rang—signalling the end of the day—and the students quickly left the class. After putting their stuff away in their lockers, the friends made their way out of the school. Getting into their vehicles, they headed to Ernie's.

~...~

Settling in at Ernie's, the friends sat at their usual table. They had just started eating when their communicators went off.

"Oh come on!" Rocky groaned, placing his burger back on the tray.

Kim laughed. "Sorry, Rocks, but duty calls...especially for you guys."

"You know," Jason laughed, "as much as I miss not being a ranger, that is definitely one thing I do not miss."

"Shut up," Kat threw a fry at him as she and the others stood up.

"We'll be back," Tanya smiled, "Hopefully without too much damage."

"We'll be here," Kim grinned up at them. "Go on."

"Stay here," Tommy bent down and kissed Kim's cheek. "Please."

"I will," Kim nodded. They had planned to go the park later, but with the battle, he was worried about her getting caught up in it.

"Good," Tommy straightened out. "Let's go guys."

"I'll head to the Command Chamber to help Alpha," Billy said as he stood up as well. "I'll be back guys."

"Later," Jason waved them off and then turned to Kim. "So, sis, what shall we do now?"

"Eat?" Kim laughed and took a bite out of her burger.

"Ok smart ass," Jason laughed and he started to eat as well. The two talked as they ate, both hoping that the battle was going ok and that their friends would escape with no more than their usual wounds. They were so into their conversation, they never saw the person that walked over to them.

"Some things never change." The voice drew their attention and they looked up, shocked at who was standing there.

"Trini?" Kim questioned.

"In the flesh sis," Trini laughed.

With a squeal, Kim launched herself from her seat and into the arms of her childhood friend and big sister. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Trini started as she pulled slightly back from the hug. "My time in Geneva is done, so instead of staying the rest of the year, I decided to come home."

"What about Zack?" Kim asked, "did he come too?"

"No," Trini shook her head, "he decided to finish out the year and his decision may have had something to do with Melanie."

"Who's Melanie?" Kim cocked her head to the side.

"A girl he met at the Peace Conference," Trini answered before she turned to Jason. "Are you gonna sit there and stare at me or am I gonna get a hug?"

Jason laughed and got up. "I was just waiting for Kim to let you go so I could get my turn."

"Sure," Kim scowled playfully at him, "blame it on me."

Raising an eyebrow at his sister, he turned back to Trini. Smiling at the girl, he pulled her into a quick hug and then gave her a kiss. "Welcome home. I missed you."

Trini grinned and kissed him again. "I missed you too and I am so glad to be home."

"Ok," Kim laughed, "enough with the kissy-faces."

"Like you and Tommy don't do the same," Trini raised an eyebrow in Kim's direction.

"Yeah, but we're not talking about me and Tommy," Kim grinned.

"Smartass," Jason tossed at her as he retook his seat, pulling Trini into his lap.

"So where is Flyboy?" Trini asked as she looked around, "And the others?"

"Battle," Kim answered, "they left like almost twenty minutes before you got here."

"That is the one thing I do not miss about being a ranger," Trini said with a laugh.

"I know, right?" Kim agreed and the three launched into a discussion about their ranger past and the things they had gone through. The talk then shifted from the ranger world to their personal lives.

Trini had just finished telling Kim and Jason about the trouble Zack had gotten into with Melanie when she saw the others heading towards them. "Hey guys."

"Trini?" Tommy, Rocky, Adam and Billy stopped in their tracks.

"Yeah," Trini cocked her to the side with a grin.

The four boys looked at each other and then hurried over to the table. Rocky grabbed Trini's hand, pulling from Jason's lap and into a hug, the other three joining in.

"What are you doing here?" Adam asked when they pulled back from each other.

"I'm home for good," Trini answered. "My time at the Peace Conference is and I decided to come home."

"Man, it's good to see you," Tommy grinned.

"Same here," Trini said as she sat back down on Jason's lap.

"Whoa, whoa," Rocky waved his hands. "When did this happen? Since when are you two together?"

Kim laughed while Jason and Trini exchanged looks.

Jason spoke. "We've been together since the end of August, so, about two or three weeks before I came back to be the Gold Ranger."

"And you knew?" Billy turned to Kim.

"Of course I did," Kim rolled her eyes with a giggle. "They both called me the night they got together."

Kim looked over at Kat and Tanya, suddenly realizing the two girls had been quiet. "Boy, are we rude. Tri, this is Tanya Sloan and Katherine Hillard. Tanya took over after 'Sha and Kat took over after me. Girls, this is Trini Kwan, the original yellow."

"Nice to meet you," Tanya's eyes were wide as she shook Trini's hand. Meeting Kimberly had been one thing, but this was something else entirely. She was meeting the original yellow. "Wow...I can't believe I'm meeting you."

"Nice to meet you too," Trini smiled, already liking the dark skin girl. She turned to Kat.

"Nice to finally meet you," Kat said as she held out her hand.

Trini cocked her head to the side and looked Kat over. She had heard all about how the blonde met the others and became the pink ranger. This was the girl that had befriended them on orders from Rita and who had stolen Kim's power coin and had almost cost Kim her life. Kim was her little sister and she was very protective of her, so she held some wariness towards Kat, but she also knew that the blonde had been under a spell and had broken it in time to save Kim's life and for that she would always be grateful.

Kat fidgeted a bit as Trini's dark eyes bored into her. It felt like the Vietnamese girl was searching through her soul and was trying to determine if she was worthy enough.

Next to her, Tanya watched with confused eyes. She turned to look at Adam and the others but saw that they were smiling slightly.

The others watched what was going in amusement. They knew that Trini knew everything that had happened with Kat and Kim and that the dark haired girl was just being protective.

"Same here," Trini said finally as she grabbed Kat's hand. "So, I heard you have something in common with Flyboy over here." She gestured to Tommy.

"Oh, you mean Rita?" Kat laughed, and if it held a hint of relief, she ignored it. "Yeah...I guess so."

"So," Trini said as she leaned back into Jason. "How do you guys actually like doing what you're doing?"

With that, the tensed atmosphere disappeared and the friends relaxed as they caught up with their friend.

~...~

The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. Christmas had come and passed and they had rung in the New Year at Ernie's. It was now the middle of March and the beginning of Spring Break. The students would be getting two weeks off from school.

It was Friday and the friends were in their last class for the day.

"Man, I can't wait for Spring Break to start," Rocky grinned, eyes glazing over at what they could do, "being at the beach, hanging out at the park—

"Rocky," Adam laughed, "we do those things every day."

"Yeah, but this time," Rocky told him, "We won't have to worry about having to be in school the next day and having homework to finish."

"He's right," Jason laughed.

"Fine," Adam conceded with a grin and then he pitched his voice lower so that only they could hear him. "Hopefully the Machine Empire will give us a day off."

"Hopefully," Tanya nodded, "but I wouldn't count on it."

"But we can still hope," Kat injected. "I for one will hope."

"Hear, hear," the others echoed, causing Tanya to laugh even as she rolled her eyes.

The bell rang and shouts of joy echoed throughout the classroom as everyone got up and headed to the door.

"Straight to Ernie's?" Trini asked as she walked over to her locker, making sure there wasn't anything she really needed in there.

"Yep," Kim answered, "figured we could spend some time there and then head to the mall. There's a sale going on and I want see what they have."

"In other words," Tommy grinned, "she wants to buy out the stores."

The others laughed and Kim smacked Tommy's arm. "I don't. Ok, I'll buy a few things, but that's it."

"Uh huh," Billy smiled, "a few things can and will easily become a multitude of bags."

"I have no problem with that," Kat grinned.

"Neither do I," Trini and Tanya said, causing the boys to groan.

"This is going to be a wonderful Spring Break," Kim declared as she looped her arm through Trini's.

"I agree," Trini smiled and the two girls headed to the exit, their friends following them.

~...~

Three days later, Kim and Trini were proven wrong. As was the norm, everyone was at Ernie's; Tommy was doing katas, Trini and Billy were talking science, Rocky and Adam were at the weights while Kat and Tanya were out shopping. The only two missing were Kim and Jason.

Tommy finished up his Katas and joined Trini and Billy. He had just sat down when Kat and Tanya walked in.

"Hey guys," Kat smiled as she and Tanya joined them.

"How was shopping?" Trini asked as she looked at the two.

"When it's for you, fun," Tanya said, "when it's for your mom and it's an errand shopping, not so much."

Trini laughed, "I hear you. I hated doing those...still do actually."

"Where're Kim and Jason?" Kat asked when she realized the two weren't there.

"Scuba diving," Tommy answered. "Jason had promised Kim a long time ago he'd take her someday and Kim collected on it today."

"Ahh, so it's brother/sister bonding moment," Tanya grinned, knowing how close the two were.

"Yep," Trini, Billy and Tommy answered as one prompting the two girls to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Rocky asked as he and Adam joined them.

"Nothing really," Kat answered, "so, any idea when they'll be back?"

"They said they'll be maybe an hour or two," Billy shook his head, "so we told them we'd wait here for them."

"No problem with that," Tanya groaned, "I just want to relax and remove the stress from shopping for Kat's mom."

"Hey!" Kat smacked her friend's shoulder.

"Oh please," Tanya rolled her eyes, "like you don't feel the same."

Kat opened her mouth and then closed it with a sigh. "Eh, you're right."

"Thought so," Tanya grinned. "Right now, all I want to do is relax." No sooner had the words left her mouth did their communicators go off.

"Tanya!" Adam, Rocky and Kat groaned.

"You jinxed us," Tommy shook his head with a grin.

"Shut up," Tanya snapped, though her voice lacked any heat.

"I'll stay here and wait for Kim and Jason," Trini said, "you guys go ahead."

"Alright," Tommy nodded and got up from his set, gesturing for the others to follow.

After finding a secluded spot, the rangers teleported to the Command Chamber. When they got there, they got a huge surprise.

~...~

Trini looked at her watch for what seemed the millionth time. Kim and Jason were supposed to be back from scuba diving over an hour ago, but she had yet to see either one and she was getting worried.

"They're fine," Trini mumbled to herself. "They probably lost track of time or something."

But even still, she still couldn't shake the bad feeling she was getting. After sitting for another ten minutes, she decided to go to the Command Chamber. When she got there, she saw Billy and Alpha at the consoles.

"Hey Billy," Trini greeted, "where are the others?"

"They went on a quest," Billy told her, "there's a new villain heading our way and the ZEO powers aren't enough to stop her, so the rangers went to gain a new set of powers called the TURBO powers."

He turned around and stopped when he saw that it was only her. "Where are Kim and Jason?"

"I don't know," Trini said as she started to wring her hands together. "They were supposed to be back over an hour ago, but I haven't seen or heard from them."

"That's not like them," Billy frowned, "maybe they lost track of time."

"I thought that too," Trini sighed, "but I can't shake this bad feeling I have. Something's wrong Billy."

He opened his mouth to answer, but was stopped by the others teleporting into the room.

"What's wrong with Kim?" Tommy asked before anyone could say anything.

Billy and Trini exchanged looks.

"Why do you think something's wrong with Kim?" Trini asked instead of answering.

"During the whole quest," Tommy explained, "I could feel that something was off and that it had to with Kimberly. So tell me, is she ok?"

"We uh, we don't know," Billy answered.

"Kim and Jason were supposed to be back from scuba diving an hour ago," Trini said, "but they haven't come back and I haven't heard from them either."

"Are you sure?" Tanya asked, but she knew that they wouldn't be this worried if they weren't.

"Yeah," Billy nodded.

"Did you try to get a lock on their communicators?" Tommy asked, "because you know Kim still wears her."

"You guys came just as Trini told me," Billy answered, "so I haven't done that yet; I'll do it now."

Everyone gathered around the blond, watching him work at the console, all the while hoping he would get a response. The minutes passed and the tension built as Billy failed to get a response or a lock on Kim or Jason's communicator.

"I don't know what it is," Billy admitted with a frustrated sigh, "but I can't get a lock on Kim or Jason's communicator. I can't find them."

"What?" the others echoed.

"Where ever they are," Billy turned to his friends, "it's blocking their signal."

"So what do we do?" Adam asked. He glanced at his leader and saw the way Tommy's eyes had darkened and the menacing aura pouring off of him and he shivered a little as he remembered the last time he had seen Tommy looking like that.

"How do we find them?" Rocky asked, worry for his friends in his voice.

Billy's brows furrowed a bit as he thought on what else he could do. "I—

The alarm going off cut off what he was about to say.

"What is it?" Trini asked.

"Ai-yi-yi-yi," Alpha cried as he pushed some buttons on the console. "Zordon, it's a message from Lerigot."

"Who's Lerigot?" Kat asked.

"He's my friend," Alpha answered, "and he's in trouble."

"Where is he?" Tanya asked.

"His coordinates place him in the middle of a jungle," Alpha told them.

"Two of you will go and search for Lerigot," Zordon said, "the rest will wait. Tommy, I would like you to be one of the two."

Tommy glared up at his mentor. He didn't want to go on the rescue mission because he knew that he would be too worried about Kim to fully concentrate on what he should be doing.

"I know that you are concerned about young Kimberly and Jason," Zordon said, "as I am and we all are, however, I would feel greatly appreciated if you as the leader were one of the two that went on the rescue mission for Lerigot."

Tommy stared at his mentor, his expression still dark. The others looked between the two, wondering what was going to happen next. They needn't have worried as Tommy nodded in compliance.

"I'll go," Tommy said slowly, trying to push his rage back down.

"I'll go with you," Kat spoke up. She was very worried about Kim and Jason and she needed something to do otherwise she would go out of mind trying to figure out what happened to them. She had and Kimberly had gotten close after learning of Kim's kidnapping in Florida; the two had spent a lot of time on the phone talking and getting to know each other better. When Kim had returned from Florida, they had only gotten closer.

"Ok," Tommy looked at her briefly before looking back at Zordon. "When do we leave?"

"It would be wise to leave now," Zordon told him, "Alpha will send the closest coordinates of Lerigot's position to your vehicles."

"Alright," Tommy nodded before looking over at Billy. "Find her…please."

"I will Tommy," Billy said.

"Let's go Kat," Tommy told the blonde and the two left the room and headed to the Zord bay.

"Come on Billy," Trini walked over to the console, "I'll help you with the search. Between the three of us, we should be able to at least get a trace or a lock onto where Kim and Jason were last."

Adam, Rocky and Tanya, not having anything to do, moved to sit on the floor, their backs against the wall.

"What do you think happened to them?" Tanya whispered, not wanting to distract the two techs from working.

"A part of me wants to believe that they are fine and their communicators were damaged or something which is why their signal is blocked from transmitting," Adam answered.

"But?" Tanya probed, hearing the slight hesitation in his voice.

"The bigger part of me already knows what happened to them," Adam continued, "and I'm hoping I'm wrong."

"What do you know, or think you know?" Tanya asked.

"That they were kidnapped," this time Rocky answered. "And I think so too."

"Oh my God," Tanya's eyes widened in shock, "I didn't even think about that."

"It's the only explanation as to why neither Billy nor Alpha can lock on to their communicators," Rocky continued.

"Who do you think has them?" Tanya's mind was going a mile a minute as she tried to think on that question.

"We do have our pick of enemies," Adam pointed out, "including this new one."

Both Rocky and Tanya's eyes widened in horror.

"Please let them be ok," Tanya whispered as she leaned against Adam.

~…~

"Kim?" Jason whispered softly, not wanting to alert their kidnappers that they were awake.

"Yeah Jase?" Kim groaned as she moved, trying to follow her big brother's voice.

"Are you ok?" Jason asked after hearing the groan.

"I'm fine," Kim said as she braced a hand against the wall and carefully walked to Jason. "My body's a little sore, but other than that, I'm fine. You?"

"I'm ok too," Jason replied, the relief obvious in his voice. He felt Kim's hand touch his arm a few minutes later and his body relaxed slightly. "I've got you."

"Jase," Kim wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest. "I'm scared because I don't know who has us or what they want."

"I know sis," Jason murmured, "me too. But don't worry, ok? I'm gonna get us out of this. I'm not sure how yet, but I will."

"I know," Kim let out a shaky sigh. "I'm not worried about us," she chuckled, "well, of course I am, but I'm more worried about the others, especially Tommy." She paused, "Jase, you and I know both know what Tommy's like when I'm in danger."

"I know and I hope to God he doesn't lose it," Jason said, remembering how Tommy got whenever Kim was hurt and what the others had told him about what had happened in Florida.

"So do I," Kim sighed. Nothing was said between the two after that.

~…~

Almost an hour after they had left, Tommy and Kat teleported back into the Chamber and they had an injured Lerigot with them. With the help of Rocky and Adam, they managed to get Lerigot onto one of the beds.

"What happened out there?" Trini asked, as she took in the soaked appearance of both rangers.

While Tommy got out of his wet clothes, Kat told them about their trip; she told them about how she fell off a cliff, how Tommy saved her from being bitten by a snake, how they found Lerigot and how the little creature healed her leg. When she was done, she asked the question that had plagued her and Tommy's mind.

"Any word on Kim and Jason?"

The computer started beeping before anyone could answer.

"Zordon," Alpha said, "it's an incoming message."

"Bring it up on the screen Alpha," Trini said as she and the others turned to it.

"Zordon and Power Rangers," a woman appeared, and they immediately realized that she was Divatox, the villain that Zordon had told them about. "You have in your possession something that belongs to me."

"What is that exactly?" Zordon asked.

"You know exactly what I mean you old fool," Divatox sneered, "the furry little creature that you have, he is mine and I want him."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Zordon said.

"I knew you'd say that," Divatox grinned, "so I brought an incentive." She gestured off screen to someone. "Release him, or his wife and child will be killed." The rangers and Alpha gasped when they saw the female version of Lerigot with a baby. "What's it gonna be Zordon?"

"You would harm a mother and child?" Zordon asked.

"The woman and baby won't be harmed if you return _him,_" Divatox grinned, "and to make sure you comply, I have something else in my possession." The screen went blank for a few seconds before it came back on. "I also have what you call humans trapped on my ship."

The rangers saw that it was two humans, but their backs were to the screen, when they turned around, the rangers gasped.

"Oh no," Kat looked over at her friend. "Tommy, look."

Tommy, who had bent down to remove his shoes, looked up at Kat's words and what he saw made him freeze in shock; it was Kim and Jason.

"K-Kimberly," Tommy couldn't believe his eyes, "And Jason."

"So you know them," Divatox smiled when she saw the reactions, "good. Return Lerigot or not only will his family die, but so will the two humans." With that, the screen went blank.

The others exchanged looks, horror in their glances at the thought of their two friends and Lerigot's family being held captive. They felt a dark aura and looked over at Tommy, even more horrified when they saw he was starting to glow green. The last time they had seen Tommy like that was when he had been kidnapped by the Machine Empire.

Tommy was frozen in disbelief. The thought of Kim being in trouble had fear rushing through his body. He had known all along that something was wrong; he had felt it, but he had never thought it was something like this. Images of Kim being kidnapped by Danny and then Alex and then being hurt by the Prince Gasket and his General flashed through his mind and he could feel the fear take a back seat as the anger took over.

'_Why us? Why her?_' He thought furiously. _'Why is it always her that gets kidnapped? That gets hurt? I'm sick and tired of these villains attacking my girlfriend!' _his eyes flashed green. _'They'll pay for this!'_

"Tommy," Trini said softly as she walked over to stand in front of her friend. She saw his eyes flash green and had to fight the urge to move away. She was feeling angry and scared over Jason being kidnapped, but she knew that what she was feeling was nothing compared to what Tommy was going through. It seemed like ever since he and Kim became a couple, they were targeted by the villains than everyone else.

'_It's cause they're the strongest out of all of us,' _Trini thought, _'the heart and the strength of the ranger team; together the two of them are very powerful and that's why every villain focused more on them.'_

Shaking her head to get rid of her thoughts, Trini focused back on her friend. "Tommy?" when he locked eyes with her, she continued, "I'm not going to ask how you're feeling, because I know, but you need to not lose control. As much as _he _wants to get out, you can't let him. Kim needs you." She had heard all about him being turned evil by the Machine Empire which had caused his alter ego, Dragon, to emerge. Only Kim was recognizable as friendly to him and she knew that with Kim not there, they wouldn't be able to handle Dragon. He would destroy them.

"She's right bro," Rocky said, "you can't let Dragon come out."

Tommy heard their words and nodded to himself. The rage threatened to take over, but he pushed it down. "I'm good."

"Good," Adam nodded, the expression on his grim. "So what do we do now?"

"No, Lerigot, don't!" Alpha cried out and they turned towards him. They saw that Lerigot was glowing slightly and could hear him chanting in a strange language.

"What is he doing?" Tanya asked after she and the others had rushed over to the bed that held the creature.

"He's preparing to give himself up," Alpha said.

"What?" the rangers, except Tommy, were shocked.

"He can't do that!" Kat cried out.

"Let him," Tommy said and they turned to him in disbelief.

"Tommy," Tanya started, "how can you say that?"

Tommy ignored her and walked over to Lerigot's side. He looked the creature in its eyes and saw the fear inside, fear not for himself, but for his family. Leaning down, Tommy whispered. "I get what you're doing, because I'd do the same for Kimberly. Do what you have to do to save your family and I'll help."

Lerigot looked up at Tommy, smiled and raised his arm to touch Tommy's chest, over his heart.

"Mate," Lerigot cooed, his voice sounding melodious.

"Yes," Tommy nodded. He straightened up and turned to Alpha. "Alpha, lock on to the coordinates of Divatox ship, see if you can figure out where she's going." He turned to the rangers. "Prep the TURBO vehicles for travel. Lerigot is going to give himself up to Divatox."

"If he does this, he will die," Tanya said.

"And if he doesn't," Tommy countered, "his family, as well as Kimberly and Jason, will die. He has no choice." He glanced at Lerigot, glanced back at the blank screen and then back at his teammates and friends. "We have to let him give himself up. This is the only chance we'll get to finding our friends and saving his family."

"He's right," Trini nodded, "I don't like the idea of giving up Lerigot for this Divatox to use in any way and for God knows what, but to save Kim and Jason and Lerigot's family, you have to."

"They're right, you know?" Rocky spoke up. "You guys may disagree, but this is the only choice we have, and we're standing here wasting time. Kim and Jason and Lerigot's family need us."

Tanya and Kat exchanged looks before they sighed. "Alright, let's do this."

Zordon looked down at his rangers with pride. He knew that they were torn as their duty was to protect the innocent, but this was the right thing for them to do. And the one thing he had always taught his rangers was that sometimes, the right thing to do, may not always be the easiest.

The rangers quickly got everything together and soon enough, they were ready to leave.

"Be careful guys," Trini said as she stood in the Zord bay watching them. They had managed to reconfigure the old ZEO zords into a ship, one large enough to store the TURBO zords.

"We will," Adam nodded.

Tommy said nothing; his entire body was tense and his eyes held pure determination. The woman he loved was in danger and he would do everything in his power to save her. Nothing would stop him.

"Let's go," Tommy ordered and he boarded the ship, Rocky helping him with Lerigot. The other rangers followed suit.

"See you when you get back," Billy said and waved when the doors closed and seconds later, the ship disappeared.

"I hope everything works out," Trini whispered.

"It will Tri," Billy said as he wrapped an arm around his childhood friend's shoulders. "They'll save Lerigot's family and Kimberly and Jason. "Have faith."

"I do," Trini smiled. "Now come on, let's go back to the computers to keep an eye on them."

"Sounds good," Billy smiled and the two turned and left the Zord bay.

~…~

Watching Divatox's henchmen throw the two bodies into the water had been hard for Tommy. His mind had screamed out in pain, but it was the knowledge in his heart that stopped him from leaping over the side to check and double check; it wasn't Kim.

Kat and Tanya had been confused as to why he didn't want to check just to make sure, but he hadn't cared. He knew that it was just a way to try and distract them. He had simply told them that he hadn't felt the pain of losing Kim. Even though they knew of how close he and Kim were and how much they meant to each other, they still didn't understand the connection the two of them had. Rocky and Adam did; they weren't there when he and Kim had started, but they had got there to still see and understand and accept that they were connected in ways other people weren't and if when he said he hadn't felt the loss of Kim, they accept it.

Now, they were finally on the island. They had figured out that Divatox had been heading to an island called Murianthesis, which was the prison for a being known as Maligore and that the reason Divatox needed Lerigot was because it needed a source of pure good energy to free the man. Meaning, she planned on sacrificing Lerigot to release the monster.

Standing on a cliff, the rangers and Lerigot looked down to see Divatox and she wasn't alone; her henchmen were with her and some of them were carrying a cage with two familiar looking creatures, others were walking with weapons while the rest held a chain that had two human captives.

"Kimberly," Tommy whispered as he looked down at his love.

"And Jason," Rocky added on. "They're ok, and so is Lerigot's family."

"The question is," Adam asked, "how do we get to them?"

"I don't know," Tanya sighed, frustration evident in her tone, "but we—hey guys, where did Lerigot go?"

They jumped around, eyes widening when they noticed the alien being wasn't with them.

"He's gone!" Kat exclaimed, her worry filled blue eyes on her friends, "but, where did he go?"

"His family," Tommy answered after a few minutes. "He's doing what he has to do…and so should we." He looked back towards Divatox and the group. "We can't attack now, Lerigot's family, Kimberly and Jason could get hurt. It looks like they're headed to the volcano. Let's get back in our zords and drive there. We'll cover more ground that way."

"Got it," The others nodded in agreement and after throwing one last look down the cliff, they headed back to the zords and took off for the volcano. A short time later, they stopped.

Getting out of their vehicles, they realized they were just a short distance from the mountain.

"Alright," Tommy said, "I don't think the cars can go any further, so we'll foot it from here. We'll morph; it'll be quicker getting there and we should be prepared."

"Sounds good," Rocky said. He could feel determination flow through his veins. His little sister and friend were in trouble and he was ready to do anything to get them back.

"Ready?" Tommy asked as he fell into a stance.

"Ready!" echoed back to him.

"SHIFT INTO TURBO!" all five cried out. Within minutes, they were each adorned in their ranger suit.

"Let's go guys," Tommy commanded and they took off running. They were a blur of colours as they sped through the jungle. Minutes later, they stopped.

"Do you guys hear that?" Kat asked as she cocked her head to the side. "It sounds like chanting."

"I hear it too," Tanya said, "where do you think it's coming from?"

"Inside," Rocky gestured to the mountain wall just a few feet from them.

"Alright guys," Tommy ordered, "see if you can find an opening, and be careful."

"Right!" the rangers carefully made their way over to the wall, feeling alongside of it for any openings.

"I found one!" Adam shouted twenty minutes later.

"Good work Adam," Tommy said as he and the others hurried over to the green ranger. He looked over the opening. "It's a single file, so stay close." With that, he headed inside, the others following behind him.

As they walked, they could hear the chanting grow louder and pretty soon they came to an opening. When they looked out, they were shocked. They saw Lerigot on the ground leaning against the cage that held his wife and daughter, Divatox standing close by with some of her henchmen around her and others walking around. They saw two of then henchmen standing at a winch and their eyes followed the rope and horror filled them when they saw Kim and Jason at the end, tied together and hanging over the lava pit.

"Kimberly," Tommy whispered, his heart pounding like a drum. He watched as her head snapped up, turned directly to where they were and her gaze locked with his.

~…~

Kim held back the whimpers of fear as she and Jason hung over the lava pit. When they had left to scuba dive earlier that day, she didn't think she end up kidnapped and about to be fried. She had thought that her days of being kidnapped were over, but apparently, she was wrong.

"You ok sis?" Jason whispered to her.

"Other than the whole hanging over boiling lava," Kim replied, "I'm fine. What about you?"

"Same," Jason chuckled softly. "You'd think with us not being rangers anymore, we'd avoid all of this."

"I just thought the same thing," Kim said before she sighed. "Sorry I messed up the escape plan." When they were on the ship, trapped in the bowel, Jason had managed to open up one of the canon holes for her to escape through. She had made it to the beach where she had collapsed from exhaustion. She had been relieved and overjoyed to escaping, and worried about Jason, but her relief had turned to disbelief and horror when she had been kidnapped again.

"It's ok," Jason murmured, his big brother instinct kicking to comfort his sister. "It was a good plan, we just didn't expect the villagers to help."

"True," Kim sighed. She wondered how Tommy was doing; she knew by now the rangers knew what had happened to them—Divatox had gloated to them how she had told Zordon she had captured two humans—and that by the presence of the Lerigot creature, they were on the island. She just hoped that they would get there soon…before she and Jason became ashes.

Suddenly, she felt Tommy's presence and she heard her name. Looking up, she saw him and the rangers standing just out of sight of Divatox.

"Tommy," she whispered, joy filling her at the sight. She knew he would find her.

"What'd you say?" Jason asked when he heard the whisper.

She opened her mouth to tell him, but one of Divatox's men beat her to it.

"Mistress, look! Intruders."

Divatox whirled around and glared when she saw who the intruders were. "Power Rangers? Who invited you?"

Feeling rejuvenated, Kim perked up and smirked. "I did! Rangers meet Divatox, Divatox, meet your worst nightmare!"

"Kim!" Jason groaned at her words.

"Piranhatrons, attack!" Divatox yelled out. She couldn't believe they were there.

~…~

"Hanging over a pit and she has time for jokes," Rocky shook his head with a grin.

"You guys fight them off," Tommy said, "I'll go help Kim and Jason."

"Got it!" the four said and quickly got into fighting mode.

Tommy fought the Piranhatrons in his way as he headed over to where his friends were. He was determined to get to them and save them.

Divatox, seeing that, sneered. "I don't think so." She turned to the two Piranhatrons at the winch. "Lower them down!"

"NO!" Tommy shouted.

Jason and Kim started moving, hoping to loosen the rope a little, but to no avail.

"Guys, help!" Kim called out.

The rangers tried hard to reach to their friends. Rocky had gotten to the winch, and had fought the guards, but when he was reversing the direction of the rope, he was attacked from behind, the blow sending him through the air to land a few feet away.

"Hold on guys!" Kat shouted as she and Tanya tried to make it to them, but found their paths block by more of the robots. Looking around, the two girls saw that their teammates were in the same position as they.

As such, they could only watch in horror as their friends disappeared from view and were lowered into the boiling lava below.

"NO!" rang out from of all of them, the one from Tommy being the loudest.

Divatox chuckled, "as we speak, the flames of Maligore are turning them into his children of evil."

A small explosion rocked the ground and flames shot up into the air. When the smoke cleared away, Kim and Jason were standing on the edge of the pit with their backs towards the room.

"Guys!" the rangers shouted in relief and hurried towards them. They stopped when the two turned around and they saw their eyes were glowing red.

"Well, well, well," Kim spoke and her voice was so dark and evil, everyone shivered from the sound, "If it isn't the pesky power rangers."

"Oh no," Tanya whispered as she took in the state of her two friends.

Kim brought her shackled her hands up and pulled, breaking the bonds, before executing a flip off the edge to land in front of the rangers. "Did ya miss me?"

Jason did the same as Kim, coming to land next to her. "Let's play sis."

The two exchanged dark looks and then, they attacked.

The rangers immediately went on the defensive as they fought not only the robots, but their friends as well.

Kim and Jason separated, and the brunette found herself standing a few feet from Kat.

"Hello Kitty-Kat," Kim smirked as she grabbed the blonde's arm and threw her back against the wall. "I want to have some fun with you."

Kat groaned as she staggered to her knees. She winced when she heard Kim's words. She had already faced an evil Tommy and she knew that facing an evil Kim would be just as bad, and if she was truthful, she wasn't looking forward to it at all.

"Kimberly please," Kat pleaded, hoping that her friend would hear her underneath the spell. "Fight this. We're your friends."

Kim cocked her head to the side. "Friends?" she frowned and her brown eyes flashed a deep, dark red. "What makes you think I'd be friends with someone like you? Someone who almost killed me?"

Kat flinched from the words as they struck a chord in her heart. She had always held the thought deep in the back of her mind that Kimberly hadn't really forgiven her for what she had done when she was under Rita's control, but the brunette had assured her she had forgiven her for what had happened and that she didn't hold any blame towards her. It seems it was a lie.

"What's the matter Katherine?" Kim smirked, "don't like hearing the truth?"

"This isn't you Kim," Kat said, ignoring the words. She knew what being evil was like and she knew that Kim was just lashing out.

"The name's Firebird," Kim spat at the blonde as she grabbed her hand and pulled her off the ground. "You'd do best to remember that." Making a fist, she punched Kat in her stomach and when the blonde doubled over, she brought her knee up.

Tommy, seeing what was happening, kicked the robot away and hurried over to the two girls, grabbed Kim's arm and spun her around.

"Kimberly!" Tommy said, "It's me."

Kim cocked her head to the side as she looked at the ranger in front of her. Something about him was pulling at her deep inside. She could feel the evil inside her demanding she destroy him, but she couldn't.

Hoping to get through to her, Tommy powered down. "Look at me Kim…it's me, Tommy." His heart ached at what his girlfriend was going through. He knew what it was like being under the pull of evil and it was the one thing he never wanted her to experience.

Kim's red eyes locked on to Tommy's chocolate brown ones and she could feel a power surge through her. She read the pain and love in his eyes and felt the same answering deep inside. A part of her didn't recognize him, but she could feel a bond to the guy standing in front of her. His eyes pleaded with her to remember and she took a slight step back when she felt a response inside. The evil that held her screeched in anger as another power awakened inside her and the power struggle began; she started glowing, shifting colours between pink and red.

When he saw the colours appear around Kim and started changing, Tommy could've jumped for joy, but he didn't. He knew that Kim was fighting to regain control, but he knew it would be a hard battle, and he was determined to help her. Closing his eyes, he focused on her and how they felt about each other, their bond. As he focused, he felt it, a power he hadn't felt in so long, one that he thought was gone.

_He could see himself standing on a plateau, similar to the one on Phaedos, he heard a screech and he looked up to see his falcon flying towards him at full speed. Joy flowed through him at the sight. The falcon slowed its speed until it was hovering in front of him._

"_**I need your help to save Kimberly," **__he said. _

_The falcon let out a screech at its mate in trouble. __**"And you shall receive it."**_

Tommy opened his eyes, not aware they were glowing white. He ignored everyone as he focused on Kim. He saw that she was now glowing red and when she opened her eyes, they were still red.

"**You will not save her," **Kim spoke, but her voice was demonic, letting him know it wasn't her, but Maligore speaking through her. **"She is mine!"**

"No she isn't," Tommy shook his head, "she doesn't belong to you, she doesn't belong _to _anyone, but she belongs _with _me. And I will save her. I never failed in doing that and I don't plan on starting now."

Neither one were aware that everyone had stopped what they were doing and were staring at them in shock. Kim attacked Tommy, forcing him backwards. She ducked a blow from him and threw a punch at his stomach sending him to the ground a few feet away.

"**Fool," **Kim laughed, **"You think you can take me on? I have been around for centuries, before your ancestors even came to this place." **

"That may true," Tommy said as he rolled to his feet, "but it doesn't mean I won't try. I love her and I am not letting you have her. So let her go."

"**You want her so bad?" **Kim taunted, **"then come and take her back. I can feel it, you know? How much she loves; are you really ready to fight her? The one that loves you so much?"**

"There's more than one path to a destination," Tommy said before he grinned and stretched out his hand, palm facing Kim. "NINJETTI WHITE FALCON POWER!" a white ball of energy formed from the centre of his palm, growing bigger by the second. When it was as big as a softball, Tommy looked into Kim's eyes.

"I know you're fighting Beautiful," he said softly. "Keep fighting, don't let him win. Call her, she will help."

"**There is no one to help!" **Kim laughed. **"I have already won."**

"No," Tommy shook his head, "you haven't. And there is someone." He focused on Kim and bond, _stay strong Beautiful. _Without warning, he threw the ball of fire at Kim and just before it hit her, he shouted. "Now Kim!"

A pink glow surrounded Kim the same time the white ball hit her. The three colours swirled around Kim, blocking everyone's view of her.

As Tommy looked on, he could only hope that it was enough to help Kim. A hand grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"What did you do to my sister?" Jason growled as he threw Tommy back against the wall.

"Jason," Tommy groaned as he quickly moved to his feet. It was clear the former red and gold ranger was still under Maligore's hold.

"I will destroy you!" Jason snarled out as he went after Tommy.

"SHIFT INTO TURBO!" Tommy yelled. He was in his ranger suit just in time to block Jason's attack. Their fight brought everyone out of their stupor and the fighting continued.

Tommy and Jason fought, not even realizing how close they were to the edge of the lava pit. Tommy's gaze caught Kim and he saw that she was still glowing, but this time, the white and pink were overpowering the red.

That slight distraction cost him and Jason landed a blow which had him falling against the edge. Before he could move, he was being strangled by Jason as his head hung over the edge.

"Jason," Tommy groaned, trying to break through to his friend, "snap out of it bro."

Jason said nothing; he only growled and tightened his hands.

Tommy could feel the heat from the lava burn through his suit and knew that if something didn't change, both he and Jason would fall over. Just then, an explosion shook the place and he found himself on the ground, with Jason hanging over the edge. He quickly turned around and grabbed on to his friend.

"I got you," Tommy grunted as he tried to pull Jason up. It was a little hard to do as the guy kept resisting.

"Let me go," Jason growled. He knew his sister was gone as he couldn't feel her anymore. He was supposed to protect her, she was his twin, and he had failed. As far as he was concerned, he had nothing else to live for.

"No," Tommy kept trying to pull him back over.

"Tommy!" Kim shouted as she fell next to him.

~…~

Kim felt the three powers fighting inside her. She had done what Tommy had said and had called on her crane powers. She hadn't been sure she could do it, but she trusted Tommy and she had felt when he had reconnected with Brennan. She could feel Maligore trying to influence her into giving up.

"_No!" she said forcefully. "I won't…I refuse to."_

_She fought him, but it seemed too much. She heard Brennan and looked up and saw and she focused on her bond with Tommy and how much she loved him. She saw Brennan and Shalimar combine and the two sent a burst of power at the dark red Firebird. The bird screeched in anger and disappeared._

Kim's eyes shot open as Maligore's power exploded from her body. Breathing deeply, she felt Brennan leave her and Shalimar resettle inside. Turning around, she saw the rangers fighting and her eyes caught Tommy and Jason.

"No," Kim whispered as she hurried over to them. "Tommy!" she shouted as she fell next to him.

"Kimberly?" Tommy looked over at her, shock and joy warring inside him.

"I'm with you," Kim said as she reached down to grab onto Jason. Between the two of them, they managed to pull Jason up and over and three rolled away from the edge.

"You ok?" Tommy asked as he grabbed Kim's hand, his helmet turned in her direction.

"Been better," Kim smiled briefly. "I'm ok Tiger. Come on, we have a job to finish."

Tommy nodded and the two got to their feet. They immediately joined up with the other rangers and helped them fight off the Piranhatrons.

Kim got separated from the others and found herself surrounded by three of the robots. She fought one of them off and turned to fight the other. She kicked it away from her and turned just in time to see Jason take out the last one.

"Need help Ptera?" Jason teased.

"Rex?" Kim cocked her head to the side, a grin starting to build.

"Who else would it be?" Jason chuckled as he moved to stand next to her.

"Shut up," Kim smacked his chest. "Let's go help the others."

"Right behind you," Jason said and the two joined their friends.

They all fought, destroying most of the Piranhatrons, and then Maligore managed to break free, so the rangers called upon their zords to form the TURBO Megazord and destroyed him once and for all. When they were done, they returned to the Command Chamber.

"Kimberly!" Trini yelled when she saw her childhood friend. She ran over to her and pulled the shorter girl into a tight hug. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," Kim whispered as she returned the hug. Trini's hugs always made her feel better.

"Why is it always you sweetie?" Trini asked as she pulled back from the hug.

"I don't know," Kim grinned, "I mean, it's not like I wake up and think, 'Oh, I think I'll get kidnapped today'. Bad guys just love coming after me, I guess."

"That's because it's you," Jason teased. He grunted when Trini flew into him, her arms wrapping around his neck. "Well hello there."

"Thank God you guys are ok," Trini said and she kissed Jason for a few seconds before hugging him again.

"Of course they are," Rocky smiled, "minus the whole being dropped into a pit of lava and then turning evil thing, they were great."

"I saw that," Trini grimaced. "It looked bad."

"It was," Tanya nodded.

"Zordon," Tommy looked up at his mentor, "Maligore's destroyed, but I think Divatox will still be a problem."

"I agree Tommy," Zordon said. "However, with the destruction of Maligore, you have at least stopped her main plan from coming to past. Well done rangers."

"Thank you Zordon," Adam said, grinning at the others.

"What now?" Billy asked.

"I could go for a smoothie," Kim spoke up, drawing chuckles from the others.

"To Ernie's it is," Tommy laughed.

~…~

Two days later, the rangers were back at the Command Chamber. They were outside, just a few feet from the entrance, where they had a couple of blankets laid out on the ground, with about four baskets and two coolers.

Kat was sitting by herself and was startled out of her thoughts when a shadow fell next to her. She looked up and saw Kim.

"Hey," Kim said as she sat down. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Kat smiled, "just thinking."

"What about?" Kim asked. "Does it have anything to do what happened when I was evil? Like say, what I told you?"

Kat looked away. "Maybe."

"Katherine," Kim used her full name, knowing the blonde would know she was serious and she wanted her to look at her. "What he said, it wasn't true."

"Yes it was," Kat shook her head, "I almost killed you and you were right not to forgive me."

"Kat," Kim reached out and took her hands. "I forgave you a long time ago; the moment I chose you to replace me I forgave you. If I hadn't, I never would've entrusted my coin and my friends in your care. Those words, they weren't me saying them; it was Maligore and he was just trying to hurt you." Kim looked at the blonde. "I already forgave you Kat, but when are you going to forgive yourself?"

"I thought I had," Kat whispered as she looked down at their joined hands. "Thank you Kimberly. We never really talked about what had happened and I'm glad we did now."

"You're welcome," Kim smiled. "Now, let's go join the others."

"Good idea," Kat said. The two girls shared a laugh and got up from the rock. They started walking over, but Kim stopped.

"Go ahead," She waved Kat on. When the blonde walked away, she turned around and smiled.

"That was good what you told her," Tommy said as he walked up next to her.

"It was the truth," Kim grinned as she stepped into his embrace. "I love you, you know that?"

"I do," Tommy nodded and pulled her back to kiss her. "And I love you too."

The two started walking over to where their friends were.

"You know," Kim said, "I think Florida is bad for me."

"How do you figure?" Tommy asked as they neared their friends.

"Well," Kim explained, "that's where Gunter Schmidt came from and had his gym, and because of him, I went through the most horrible experiences in my life one after the other."

"All the crap with Zedd," Tommy mused, "because Schmidt was here, Zedd decided to use it to tear us apart."

"And then all the drama with Danny," Kim said.

"What's that about Danny?" Trini asked; she had heard all about Kim getting kidnapped by a fellow gymnast from Jason who had been told what happened by Rocky and Adam.

"We're just talking about the horrible experiences Kim went through," Tommy said.

"And we realized that Florida was the main reason," Kim said, "so it's bad for me. I mean, Schmidt came from Florida, which started all the crap with Zedd and then, when I got to Florida all the crap with Danny." She sighed, "But, some of that is my fault."

"Kimberly!" immediately the others started protesting.

"No," Kim shook her head, "if I hadn't let Danny get to me, if I hadn't let him fill my mind with all of his crap, I never would've written that letter."

"Wait, what?" Rocky held up a hand. "That doesn't make any sense."

"What is it?" Tanya asked, her tone coloured with curiosity.

"What Kim just said, about Danny being the reason she wrote the letter," Rocky explained, even as his gaze shifted to their leader. "Remember when Tommy came back from Florida, before Kim got kidnapped?"

"Yeah," Kat nodded.

"Well remember what he said the reason behind the letter was?" Rocky asked.

Tommy started fidgeting as he knew they would figure it out. He never thought they would and he had hoped to keep it a secret.

"He said," Adam spoke up, eyes widening in remembrance, "that the letter was a fake; that there was a girl that didn't like Kim and she dared her to write the letter and when Kim did, she threw it away and then the girl took it out of the garbage and mailed it."

"That's right," Billy snapped his fingers. "That's what he told us."

"Wait," Jason stood up slowly. "Are you saying that Tommy lied to us?"

Kim turned to look at her boyfriend in disbelief. "You did?"

"Guys," Tommy held up his hands and started backing away when he saw Jason move towards him and Rocky, Adam and Billy get up. "It wasn't like that."

"You lied," Billy said, "no ifs, ands, or buts about it."

"It was only because," Tommy said.

"Because what?" Adam cut him off. "You didn't trust us to tell us the truth?"

"Of course I trust you," Tommy told him. "I just—

"Tommy," Jason's voice was calm when he spoke, "run."

"Guys, come on," Tommy pleaded. He took one look at their faces and took off.

Jason, Rocky, Adam and Billy chased after him, while the girls laughed.

Kim shook her head as she watched her boyfriend and their friends. She had no idea that Tommy had lied and she wondered just how it was the truth hadn't come out before now. She looked back up when she heard the boys' grunts and laughter and her gaze locked on to Tommy's and the two shared a smile, one filled with love.

The guys made their way back over to the girls and sat down. Tommy sat behind Kim, allowing her to rest against his body, his arms wrapped around her.

Kim sighed as she relaxed back into him, smiling when she felt the kiss he placed on her head. Yes she had gone through horrible things, things no one should go through, but it was moments like this, that made it all worth it. And she knew that no matter what, Tommy would always be there to save her, and she him; they were each other's other half, their soul mates, the falcon and his crane, together always.

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><p><strong>AN 2: **so that's it, the end of the chapter. As you can tell, I completely re-wrote a lot of things, including Jason losing his powers, Justin becoming a ranger, how T: APRM happened, and other things. One reason I took Justin out was because I didn't like how in the movie they brought in this kid to fight against an evil Kim and Jason, and how he was so eager to be a ranger that he didn't really listen to caution when they were on the island, and because I completely forgot about him *grins* until I finished the story. And also, I totally re-wrote T: APRM, the ending especially, so…yeah…Anyways, now that you're at this point, all that's left to do is review…

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><p><strong>Reviewers:<br>****hopelessromanticgurl; general-joseph-dickson; VampsGurl; Young at Hear21; XRanger13; dandelion657; Pinkrangerfan; Taeniaea; sabina21; brankel1; RFK22; Jeremy Shane; andyg2525; mae-E; Falcon4Crane; oldtvlover; acro4ever; hansongirl14; Purple Dragon Ranger**

Kila


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